Alan Carr Buys Up 16-Bedroom Traitors-Style Castle In Scotland

Even now, we’re not quite sure how he did it. Tomato red and glistening with sweat, breaking out into giggles at every turn, and unable to call himself a faithful with a straight face… Alan Carr’s Celebrity Traitors victory was truly a TV moment for the ages. Having eluded the eagle-eyed gaze of chief traitor-hunter Joe Marler, and using his bumbling charms to outwit David Olusoga and Nick Mohammed, Carr made history as the first winner of the new star-studded series.  

And it seems that the TV star found himself feeling quite at home among the castle’s treacherous turrets. So much so that he’s bought up a Traitors-worthy castle of his own. A red-brick baronial structure, largely built around the 19th century, his new Scottish gaff holds more than a passing resemblance to Ardross Castle where the treacherous TV series is filmed. 

But with 16 bedrooms to fill (plus a five-storey turret and railway), you can soon imagine this expansive property turning lonely. Thankfully Carr’s got a solution – the TV funnyman is planning to transform his £3m new home into a luxury spa retreat.

Following on from his BBC series of European renovation projects with Amanda Holden (including Amanda & Alan’s Spanish, Italian and Greek Jobs) rumour has it that Carr is planning to document the process on Disney+ in a new fly-on-the-wall reality TV programme. Reported to have signed a seven-figure deal with the streamer, the project has been given the working title Castle Man and will be helmed by the production company Expectation, which also produced Clarkson’s Farm for Amazon Prime.

Discussing the deal, Carr said: ‘Some men when they have a midlife crisis buy a Lamborghini or grow a ponytail, but me – I want my very own castle. Since I was a boy in Northampton, I’ve always dreamt big, and have always been enchanted with the history and romance of a stately home. As I turn 50, I feel it’s time. All I want is a turret to call my own — get me over that drawbridge.’

Look Inside Alan Carr’s New Castle

(c) BBC/Voltage TV/Zak Walton

Lording over Berwick-upon-Tweed, just north of the English-Scottish border, Ayton Castle is regarded as one of Scotland’s finest baronial-style buildings – and is one of only two baronial structures by renowned architect James Gillespie Graham. While ‘baronial’ originally means ‘related to barons’, architecturally it refers to the 19th-century Scottish style which revived medieval castle features such as turrets, but used them to create large comfortable mansions rather than the cold defensive structures of the feudal years. 

With the medieval Barony of Ayton (dating back to 1324) having hit the market at the same time as Ayton, the castle is built around the original medieval tower house. This peel tower was once the stronghold of the historic Home family and was later captured by the English 1497 – becoming the site of a peace-making treaty between the two nations. Eventually replaced by a classical mansion – which burnt down in 1834 – the current castle was designed in 1854 and expanded in 1860.

Famous Fans

And it seems that Carr isn’t the first celeb to fall for the castle’s charms. In 1873, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn author Mark Twain made a visit to Ayton Castle. He fell so deeply in love with the Bonnar & Carfae designed interiors, that he took the dining room fireplace mantle back home with him – which remains in his house museum in Hartford, Connecticut to this day.

Step Inside Ayton Castle

Featuring 17th century Scottish-style plasterwork in the three state rooms, this castle remains rich in history. Thankfully for Carr, the previous owners have carried out much of the improvements for him, including partial rewiring, re-plumbing and the redecoration of several of the principal rooms. 

With a family wing in the southern end and service areas and courtyard to the north, the two-storey, 16-bedroom property also includes a private chapel with a kitchenette and dining space, as well as a kitchen plus butler’s pantry located conveniently near to the dining room and service entrance. The first floor offers twelve bedrooms and six bathrooms alone, with four more bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor. Meanwhile, the lower ground and basement levels provide secondary accommodation, including a former servants’ hall, storerooms, and domestic quarters around the service courtyard. The highlight? We’re sure Carr will be spending plenty of time plotting away in the five-storey turreted Great Tower.

And Out

Alongside the central castle (in case the 16 bedrooms weren’t enough for Carr’s hotel plans), the property boasts cottages, gate lodges and stable flats. Set within 160 acres of countryside on the Scottish borders, the surrounding gardens feature a 16th century dovecote alongside formal garden terraces, parkland and woodland. 

And if the extensive castle grounds are too much for Carr and his guests, they can simply hop aboard the railway which winds through the grounds. Spanning 600m of track, the narrow gauge railway comes with its own platform, ticket office, shed and joiner’s shop. 

Before Carr, the castle’s owners ran a livery business on the grounds centred around the impressive stable block: a two storey courtyard complex with three stable flats. There is stabling for approximately nine horses, various loose boxes, several stores, a staff room, a tack room, workshop and a double garage. There is also an all-weather manège, which is actively used for the training of horses in riding and dressage skills with a further four loose boxes behind the barn. Let’s hope we get some footage of Carr saddling up on the show… we’re sure it will entertain.