Alan Carr is officially swapping studio lights for turret views.
The 49-year-old comedian has purchased Ayton Castle in the Scottish Borders — a 19th-century baronial estate that comes complete with its own title. Yes, that means Alan Carr is set to become a Scottish baron.
Inspired by his time filming at Ardross Castle for BBC One’s Celebrity Traitors — which he won in November, taking home £87,500 for his chosen charity Neuroblastoma UK — Alan has now taken the leap himself.
Speaking on the Staying Relevant podcast with Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson, he put speculation to rest. ‘I have bought it. Someone said someone else has bought it but, no, I have. I haven’t been this excited about a project for ages,’ he said.
‘I’ve got the survey now and I’m waiting for the keys to come. I’ll be a baron and I’ll be getting my own tartan – I might get a nice man up there.’
The experience of buying and running the property will form the basis of a brand-new Disney+ series, Castle Man (working title), produced by Expectation — the team behind Clarkson’s Farm.
The show will follow Alan as he approaches his 50th birthday and embarks on what he describes as the ‘biggest gig’ of his life: not just owning a castle, but building a life in one.
‘Some men when they have a midlife crisis buy a Lamborghini or grow a ponytail, but me – I want my very own castle,’ Alan said in a statement at the time. ‘All I want is a turret to call my own – get me over that drawbridge!’
It’s the second property series Alan has been involved in, following his hit BBC renovation show with Amanda Holden, which sees the duo travel from Italy to Spain to transform dilapidated buildings.
Inside Ayton Castle
Widely regarded as one of Scotland’s finest baronial-style buildings, Ayton Castle was designed in 1845 by James Gillespie Graham, a leading figure in Gothic Revival architecture.
Built from squared red sandstone with ashlar dressings, the castle features crenellated parapets, crow-step gables and rope-moulded corbelling to its turrets — all the drama you’d expect from a romantic stately home.
Arranged primarily over two storeys, with a five-storey Great Tower, the interior includes a sweeping gallery corridor, formal reception rooms, a private chapel, a main kitchen with butler’s pantry and an impressive broad turnpike staircase.
Upstairs, there are 12 bedrooms and six bathrooms on the first floor, most with south-facing views over gardens and parkland, plus four additional bedrooms on the second floor.
Beyond the principal rooms, the estate includes a Category B-listed stable block with nine horse stables, workshops and garaging, as well as a portfolio of cottages, gate lodges and stable flats that generate rental income.
160 acres of landscaped grounds
The grounds extend to over 160 acres and form part of a Category B-listed designed landscape. There are formal terraced gardens to the south, complete with sandstone retaining walls, box hedges and a fountain, alongside mature woodland managed under a long-term land plan.
Hidden within the estate is a restored 16th-century dovecote and even a subterranean ice house, details that feel tailor-made for a reality series.
Significant improvements have already been carried out since the castle’s last sale in 2014, including partial rewiring, re-plumbing and redecoration of principal rooms.
But as Alan’s upcoming series will no doubt show, running a historic castle is unlikely to be entirely smooth sailing.
Turret dreams, it seems, come with their own maintenance schedule.
The property was listed via Knight Frank.
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