Alan Carr's Specstacular
Alan Carr's Specstacular is a special broadcast on Channel 4 presented by Alan Carr. The show features Alan and guests all competing in sketches, games and musical performances. The show was originally broadcast on 31 December 2011 as Alan Carr's New Year Specstacular and has spawned to various other specials including two Summertime Specstaculars in 2012 and a Grand National Specstacular in 2013.
| Alan Carr's Specstacular | |
|---|---|
 Title card for Alan Carr's New Year Specstacular | |
| Presented by | Alan Carr |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 10 (as of 31 December 2017) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Open Mike Productions |
| Production location | The London Studios |
| Running time | 95-150 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Original release | 31 December 2011 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Alan Carr: Chatty Man The Sunday Night Project The Justin Lee Collins Show |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The title sequence, designed by Lee Jacobs, sees Carr mischievously setting off a giant rocket in the basement of Channel 4. It blasts through the roof to the delight of the queueing crowd outside to spell out the show's title.[1]
Episodes
Summertime Specstacular
Alan Carr's Summertime Specstacular was broadcast on 8 June 2012, during the week of celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Carr was joined by guests David Walliams, Justin Bieber, The Saturdays, the cast of Made in Chelsea, Amy Macdonald, Carol Vorderman, Paddy McGuinness, Christian Jessen and Rizzle Kicks. Carr was also visited by Russell Brand via video link.
The special was watched by 1.746 million viewers, the second most watched broadcast on Channel 4 that week.[4]
Summertime Specstacular 2
Alan Carr's Summertime Specstacular 2 was broadcast on 17 August 2012, during Channel 4's Funny Fortnight. Guests included Jonathan Ross, Tulisa, Keith Lemon, Melanie Sykes, Paloma Faith, Labrinth and Fatima Whitbread. Team GB Olympic medallists Mo Farah, Nicola Adams, Greg Rutherford, Louis Smith, Heather Stanning and Helen Glover also appeared.
The special was watched by 1.37 million viewers.[4]
Grand National Specstacular
On 19 March 2013 Alan Carr's Grand National Specstacular was announced by Channel 4 as part of their line-up of programming building up to the 2013 Grand National.[5] The 95-minute special was broadcast on 5 April 2013, on the eve of the Grand National, and featured Jonathan Ross, Paddy McGuinness, Kimberley Walsh, Louis Walsh, James Nesbitt, Abbey Clancy, Rylan Clark, Alex Brooker, Russell Brand and Clare Balding, with music performed by Madness.
Miranda Hart was scheduled to appear but could not after injuring her knee earlier in the week.
The celebrities played games and drew out which horses they got in the sweepstake.
The special pulled in 1.49 million viewers.[6]
Alan Carr's Christmas Cracker
On 25 December 2018, Alan Carr hosted a Christmas extravaganza in his own inimitable style from his very own Alpine Log Cabin. Guests included Channing Tatum, Emilia Fox, Danny Dyer, Lily Allen, Sharon Horgan, Olly Murs, Russell Howard, Alesha Dixon, Freddie Fox, Dani Dyer, Vicky McClure, Martin Compston, and Chris Kamara, plus surprise sketches and merry musical performances.
Controversy
During the 2013 festivities, the guests discussed adult themes, including Gok Wan telling Carr to "fuck off" and joking that he would not perform oral sex on him, Blumenthal talking about a strap-on sex toy and Ross commenting on a full-frontal naked picture of N-Dubz star Dappy. Following the show, Channel 4 received fifty-seven complaints from viewers, and it was believed that government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries, Ofcom, would investigate the show.[7] However, after consideration, Ofcom has confirmed that the show had met "generally accepted standards" for a show aired after the 9pm watershed. A Channel 4 spokesman said: "It was an irreverent end-of-year party, appropriately scheduled post-watershed with clear warnings."[7]
References
- "Alan Carr's New Year Specstacular - Laura Hulme". laurahulme.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- Millar, Paul (2 January 2012). "Channel 4's Alan Carr New Year's marathon seen by 2m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- Sweney, Mark (2 January 2013). "BBC1's New Year Live raises a toast to 10.3 million". Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- "Top 30 Programmes". BARB. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- Fletcher, Alex (19 March 2013). "Grand National coverage expanded on Channel 4". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- "Top 10 Programmes - BARB". BARB. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- "'Alan Carr's New Year Specstacular' cleared by Ofcom". imediamonkey.com. 8 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2013.