The Great British Bake Off comedian Tom Allen opens up about hiding his sexuality as a youngster and how writing his new book has helped him cope with the grief of losing his dad
As one of Britain’s best-loved stand-up comedians, Tom Allen has us howling with laughter on shows including Live At The Apollo, Mock The Week and The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice.In his latest memoir, Too Much, the star writes about life growing up in Bromley, Kent – and it wasn’t exactly a bed of roses. Tom, 40, struggled to navigate life at his tough comprehensive school and did his best to hide his sexuality and famously flamboyant personality from his peers.
“I told my mum first, because I instinctively thought she would understand,” he remembers. “I then later told my dad over the phone. Oddly, Dad was more upset with me because I had felt unable to talk about it to him sooner – which sort of shocked me because in the end, when it mattered, he was more emotional than my mum.”The heartbreak of losing such an influential figure in his life is something the comic is still learning to cope with.
“Dad and I were close, yet so different. He was a coach driver from Penge in south London and there was I, this camp and flamboyant child. I think that was sort of unexpected for him to deal with.”“While Mum loved the idea of me going into showbiz, my dad hated the idea,” he says. “He was scared and wanted me to go to university, so I think all along I wanted to prove to him that I could make my own way in comedy and TV and make him proud – which in the end he was.
Most recently, the man with the exquisitely tailored suits hosted ITV1’s Cooking With The Stars alongside Emma Willis and while Tom tells OK! it’s “a dream job”, some of the celebrity contestants had a more stressful experience than they bargained for. Tom says The Crown actor Jason was his favourite to win, although it was Coronation Street star Samia Longchambon who eventually took the trophy.
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