Alan Carr admits he broke down in tears after being told he was to be a judge on ITV’s new talent show I’ve Got a Dream.
Comedian 47 sobbed when he received a call from TV bosses just weeks after losing out on Britain’s Got Talent as a judge to former Strictly star Bruno Tonioli, which he “regrets” as he would love to work with close friend Amanda Holden .
Admitting that his reaction was “tragic” and that he is also an “ugly crier”, Alan, who appears on the panel alongside Samantha Barks, Jessie Ware and Amber Riley, explained that the gig meant a lot to him as he is a huge ABBA fan. .
He also defended his place on the show, insisting that while he has no direct musical theater experience and is unable to offer technical advice to the show’s future stars, he has “performed on more stages than people have had hot dinners”.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for Alan, who has been promised a “camp waiter” appearance in the third Mamma Mia! sequel, which is on the cards, according to its creator Judy Kramer.
Alan Carr admits he broke down in tears after being told he was to be a judge on new ITV talent show I’ve Got a Dream
Alan, who appears on the panel alongside Samantha Barks, Jessie Ware and Amber Riley, explained that the gig meant a lot to him as he is a huge ABBA fan.
Alan sobbed when he received the call just weeks after losing out on Britain’s Got Talent as a judge, which he “regrets” as he would love to work with Amanda Holden
Asked how he felt when he was told he had been cast as a judge, he replied: ‘This is very tragic and I’m going to sound like an idiot… I started crying and I’m sure I’m an ugly cryer but I love ABBA, I love Mamma Mia! and I love Greece and it was the perfect job and I couldn’t believe my luck. I was crying.’
He added: “I know why people at home say, ‘why is he doing musical theatre?’ but I’ve been on stage more times than people have had hot dinners with my stand up, so I know what it’s like.
“We all go to the theater and we’re all on Twitter and we have opinions, and I’m that person at home and I know what charisma is and I know what I like, and you have to have that.” They’re all technical, but you have to have one person who says, “Oh, I just love it, it fills me with joy.”
Judy Kramer, who created and produced both Mamma Mia! musical and the Hollywood films, which star Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper in the lead roles of Sophie and Skye, have confirmed that she is eyeing a third film, with Alan likely to have a cameo.
She said: “I want to do a third film and I hope it happens, but anything with Mamma Mia! it takes a long time and it took many years to agree to make television, although not once we started it.
‘I offered Alan a fourth possible father, but he just wants to be a waiter!’
The new ITV talent show will see 14 contestants perform ABBA songs, learn choreography and act on the judging panel in a bid to land the roles of Sophie and Skye and a one-year contract in the West.
They all come from different backgrounds and lived together in Corfu, Greece while the series was filmed.
The show’s host, Zoe Ball, longed for a young and attractive cast for the ‘snog’ as she hoped for the ‘curse of Mamma Mia’
Samantha Barks, best known for playing Elsa in the musical Frozen, says she had an interest in the cast after she shot to fame on BBC talent show I’d Do Anything in 2008.
The 17-year-old came third in Oliver Twist’s Search for Nancy and reminded the cast of I’ve Got a Dream that missing out on the finals doesn’t mean the end of their careers
The show’s host, Zoe Ball, jokes that she longed for a young and attractive cast for the ‘snog’ as she hoped for ‘the curse of Mamma Mia’, a reference to Strictly Come Dancing and the show’s track record of contestants going on dates with their partners. .
Zoe said: “I enjoyed the role of looking after Sophie and Skye desperately trying to get them together and I was like, ‘please come on’ we want Mamma Mia! curse.
“I’m not sure if that happened, but they were so wonderful and so brilliant and boringly professional.”
West End star Samantha Barks, best known for her role as Elsa in the musical Frozen, says she had an interest in the cast after rising to fame in a similar talent show in 2008, the BBC’s I’d Do Anything, where was third in Look for Nancy Oliver Twist.
She said: “For me, I was on one when I was 17 and it was a great honor to be on this side.
“It was so exciting to get this job because it’s so personal to me, and it felt like such an honor and responsibility for us because these are the lives of these amazing people and it really hit home when we had to send someone home.”
‘Me and Jessie would wake up every morning and say, ‘I’ll see you at breakfast for the report’, we really cared about them and we’d go to bed thinking about them.
“I came third so I told them don’t think this is the end of your career, this is just the beginning, so when you go out and do your last number you’re not defeated, and it’s not all bad.” . it’s the start of an exciting career for you.’
- MAMMA MIA! I Have a Dream will launch on Sunday 22 October at 6pm on ITV1, STV and ITVX