Changing Ends: Playing Alan Carr's dad was moving, says Shaun Dooley

Shaun Dooley (left) will be playing Alan Carr's father Graham Carr (right) in the ITV show

Shaun Dooley says playing Alan Carr's dad Graham in a new sitcom about the comedian's life was "moving".

Carr stars as himself in the present day while Oliver Savell, 13, will play the young Alan in the new ITV series.

Changing Ends follows the story of Carr's upbringing in Northampton in the 1980s while his father Graham Carr was the town's football team manager.

"When you find out who Alan Carr's dad is, you kind of go 'what?'." said Mr Dooley. "He's famous in Northampton".

After playing for Northampton Town in the 1960s, Graham Carr managed the Cobblers between 1985 and 1990.

Shaun Dooley and Nancy Sullivan play Alan Carr's parents in Changing Ends

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton, Mr Dooley said: "Alan's grown up in that environment where when you're in public, you're on show in that sense."

Mr Dooley met Graham and his wife Christine, Alan's mum who is played by Nancy Sullivan in the series, and said he was a "nice guy" who gave him "full permission to play him [in the series]".

Oliver Savell (left) will play a young Alan Carr (right) in the sitcom

Alan Carr was born in Weymouth, Dorset, in 1976, but spent most of his youth in Northampton.

The six-part autobiographical comedy is described as a love letter to the town and shares Carr's journey through puberty, adolescence and self-discovery at a time when society was less inclusive.

The show was developed by Baby Cow Productions, which worked on comedies including the BBC's Gavin & Stacey, Alan Partridge and Mighty Boosh.

Changing Ends is available to stream now on ITVX.

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