Alan Carr has admitted his comedy “probably stopped him having a breakdown” when his marriage was collapsing and his dog was “slowly fading”.
The 46-year-old comedian announced at the beginning of the year that he and his husband Paul Drayton were separating. They had been married for three years but were together for 13 years.
Carr has opened up about how he got through this difficult period which also saw his beloved dog Bev die in May.
He told the Daily Mail Weekend magazine: “All this stuff at home was happening, and even writing about it was hard because things were changing.
“It was like nailing blancmange to the wall, like the tectonic plates of my relationship were shifting. Then Bev was slowly fading.
“I know it sounds silly but, yes, there were times I’d stand in the wings and just shake and think I couldn’t go on.
“I think the audience sensed that too. There was like an extra cheer from them, a ‘Go on, Alan’. I needed that.”
He added: “I didn’t have a breakdown, no. I don’t want to say I did because I didn’t. But comedy probably stopped me having a breakdown.”
In January, Drayton walked free from court following two “harrowing” nights in custody after winning his appeal against a prison sentence for drink-driving.
Drayton’s alcoholism reportedly was one of the strains on the couple’s marriage, but Carr has revealed his workaholic nature also caused issues.
Drayton now takes care of the former couple’s other two dogs due to Carr being away for work so often.
The comedian admitted he prefers to work constantly rather than return to an empty house.
He said: “People have said to me, ‘Alan, you’ve got to go home at some point’.
“But Paul’s not here, the dogs aren’t here, so I know I’m coming home to an empty house.
“When I do stop and come home, I get lonely. I need to sort myself out.”
Carr’s upcoming Channel 4 series, titled Alan Carr’s Adventures With Agatha Christie, will see him visit places that inspired the renowned author, who was Carr’s “teenage idol”.