Alan Carr on a night out wearing glasses
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Alan Carr mistook salmonella poisoning for ‘symptom of grief’ following death of his dog

Alan Carr lost his beloved dog Rita in 2022

Alan Carr previously revealed that he mistook a serious health condition for grief following the loss of his beloved dog.

Alan – on screen this weekend (November 16) with his Picture Slam game show – said his grief for Bev was so bad that he didn’t realise he had salmonella poisoning.

Alan Carr looks to the left wearing a white shirt and blue velvet jacket on Chatty Man.
The dog lover reacted badly to Bev’s death (Credit: YouTube)

Alan Carr on grieving his dog

Back in September 2023, comedians Jack Dee and Seann Walsh spoke to the Chatty Man star all about his beloved pooch on the Oh My Dog podcast.

I’ve never known grief like it.

Alan said that he experienced tremendous grief when Irish Setter Bev unfortunately passed away in 2022.

In fact, the grief was so visceral that he didn’t notice he had contracted salmonella poisoning from a chicken sandwich.

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A post shared by Alan Carr (@chattyman)

The 48-year-old comic said: “When Bev went I’ve never known grief like it. There was a salmonella out­­break, and when she was put down I had a chicken sandwich the same day.

“I rang my mum and I said: ‘Bev’s gone, and I don’t feel well.’ And she said: ‘You’re grieving, people grieve in different ways.'”

Recalling the incident, Alan told the hosts: “It was touch and go. I was crying.”

Alan Carr holds his hand to his head while wearing a floral shirt and sitting on the 9 out of 10 cats panel.
Alan is a huge dog lover (Credit: YouTube)

Star’s new pup is ‘making it easier’ for him to grieve

A year on, Alan admitted: “I am desperate to get a dog, my life is empty. It breaks my heart.”

Happily, canine charity All Dogs Matter stepped in to help ease Alan’s grief and the star went on to rehome a new four-legged friend.

Earlier this month, the comedian shared an image of his sweet canine friend Rita sharing the studio with him for take your dog to work day.

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A post shared by Alan Carr (@chattyman)

Sharing several shots of Rita at work, Alan captioned the pictures: “I rehomed Rita from the wonderful dog charity @alldogsmatter of which I’m a patron.

“Of course I’ll never get over losing Bev,” he added, “but Rita is definitely making it easier for me. Isn’t she a beauty?”

Watch Alan on Alan Carr’s Picture Slam on Saturday (November 16) at 6pm on BBC One.

Alan Carr's Picture Slam | Trailer - BBC

Read more: A brief history of Alan Carr’s turbulent love life

Which is your favourite Alan Carr show? You can leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.


Rebecca Carter
Associate Editor (News)