It’s been a long time coming for Alan Carr to talk about his ex Friday Night Project co-host, Justin Lee Collins.
The comedians starred together in the Channel 4 show from 2005 to 2009.
While Alan’s career has gone from strength to strength, Justin was shrouded in controversy after being found guilty of a single charge of harassment against his ex-girlfriend Anna Larke in 2012.
Justin had been earning a whopping £500,000 a year and had a HUGE audience on Bafta-nominated Friday Night Project, but everything changed.
The Bristol-born comedian disappeared into showbiz wilderness for a while, and now presents a show on lesser-spotted channel Fan TV.
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The Chatty Man host has never actually spoken about the scandal so it came as a shock when he shared his thoughts on Loose Women.
He said: “That wasn’t the Justin I knew.
“He was a big part of my life and I had such a laugh with him.
“He was obviously in a toxic relationship and he’s now sorted himself out.”
Talking about why he’d never spoken about it until now, Alan added: “I didn’t want to throw him under the bus because he’s a good friend and he’s sorted himself out.”
Alan also got explicit about his fiancé Paul Drayton, and his previous alcohol issues.
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Sadly, he said he would go on stage as a “tonic” to cheer himself up when, in actuality, his “heart was breaking”.
Alan said: “I was going onstage and my life was falling apart.
“People think of alcohol problems and they think it’s going to be like Ab Fab, but I was going on tour and didn’t know whether he was going to fall at home, knock a candle over or something and set fire to the house.”
He continued: “I was sometimes in bits before stepping on stage, but you need it sometimes.”