Changing Ends

Changing Ends is a British television sitcom released on ITVX in the UK from 1 June 2023. It is a semi-autobiographical series about comedian Alan Carr growing up in Northampton during the 1980s, the son of a professional football manager. A second series was commissioned in November 2023.

Synopsis
Graham Carr was a former top-flight professional footballer who was the manager of Northampton Town F.C. when they won the Football League Fourth Division title in 1986-87. The East Midlands in Thatcher's Britain however may have felt very different as seen through the eyes of his son, "when your family are Match of the Day and you’re a bit Miss Marple".

Cast

 * Oliver Savell as Young Alan Carr
 * Alan Carr as Older Alan Carr
 * Shaun Dooley as Graham Carr
 * Nancy Sullivan as Christine Carr
 * Taylor Fay as Gary Carr
 * Colin Salmon as Ron
 * Jack Medlin as Alfie
 * Rourke Mooney as Charlie Hudson
 * Gabby Best as Angela Hudson
 * Harry Peacock as Nigel Hudson
 * David Mumeni as Mr Chapman
 * Victoria Alcock as Val
 * Cariad Lloyd as Jackie Gideon
 * Michael Socha as Adam
 * Dotty Davies as Kay
 * Samantha Baines as Fiona
 * Logan Matthews as Leslie
 * Keira Chansa as Maz

Production
In February 2021 Carr and Baby Cow Productions began auditioning young actors to play himself in a sitcom that they were developing together. A non-broadcast pilot was made with BBC Studios in February 2022.

A six-part series was commissioned by ITVX in November 2022, with Carr co-writing with Simon Carlyle and production by Baby Cow. Executive producers were Sarah Monteith, Rupert Majendie and Danny Julian, alongside Carr and Carlyle. It was announced that Oliver Savell would play the young Carr.

In January 2023, it was confirmed that Shaun Dooley and Nancy Sullivan would be joining the cast as Alan's parents Christine and Graham Carr, with Taylor Fay playing his younger brother Gary. The family's neighbours, Charlie and Angela, would be played by Rourke Mooney and Gabby Best, with Harry Peacock as Nigel, David Mumeni as Mr Chapman and Michael Socha as Adam. Filming started that same month at an undisclosed location, but outdoor scenes were not filmed in Northampton itself.

A second series of six half-hour episodes was commissioned by ITV in November 2023, with filming scheduled for early 2024.

Broadcast
The series was premiered on ITVX before broadcast on ITV at a later date. Changing Ends was made available for viewing on ITVX from 1 June.

Reception
The series was ITVX’s ‘most viewed’ comedy of 2023.

In February 2024, the series was nominated at the Broadcast Awards in the Best Comedy Programme category.