Alan Carr says he’s never resigned from a job as he hosts new game show
The comedian offers contestants 'a year off work on full pay' in new show
There are these tendencies in TV game shows to put in a killer twist: ‘You’ve won these prizes, now they’re going to be put in a crusher!’” laughs comedian Alan Carr, 41, who hosts a brand-new quiz show where the prize is a paid year off work.
“But not everything has to have a darker tone. I Don’t Like Mondays makes you feel good.”
The fun quiz sees audience members go head to head to win what Alan calls “the best prize on TV” – everyone has written their resignation letter and brought it to the studio, but only one person will be lucky enough to be told to hand it to their boss in return for a cash prize matching the highest-earning contestant’s salary.
“If you want the money, you’re going to have to send that letter off,” reveals Alan.
“Some of them wrote: ‘Sorry, you’re the best boss in the world but I need this,’ and others were like [makes raspberry noise]: ‘Stick that, I’ve always hated you! I’m off now.’
“You’ve got one old bloke, sick of his job, who just wants to spend time with his grandkids.
"He’s up against a woman who wants to spend the money on getting a Kim Kardashian bum lift. Obviously you want the old bloke to win, but why shouldn’t she have a new arse?”
The audience must answer questions such as: ‘How many people have made up a doctor’s appointment just to get a lie in?’, and in one game they’re flung round in a spinning wheel.
Having had a fair amount of less than enjoyable jobs in his lifetime, Alan can understand why people are so desperate to at least take a year off theirs.
“My heart goes out because I got a Drama degree, which was absolutely useless, and I worked in dead-end jobs.
I know what it’s like, that despair,” he says. “I put the raisins in Fruit ’n Fibre, I worked at a call centre, I was a driver’s mate, I’ve been flyering, I worked at Tesco collecting the trollies.
"I’ve never resigned because I’ve always been fired.
“My mum takes the p*** out of me. When I’m like: ‘I’ve got to go to C4 for a meeting, it’s so boring,’ she goes: ‘Oh, Alan, you should go back to the call centre, you were happy there.’”
I Don't Like Mondays, Friday 8pm Channel 4
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