Remember when Alan Carr and Lionel Blair saved a man's life | Flashback after Blair dies at 92

Remember when Alan Carr and Lionel Blair saved a man's life

Flashback after Blair dies at 92

In honour of Lionel Blair, who died yesterday at the age of 92, we reprint this story from September 21, 2006, in which he and Alan Carr saved a man's life...


Alan Carr has saved a suicidal man who tried to jump off the end of Blackpool pier – with the help of Lionel Blair.

The Friday Night Project comic had just filming a pilot episode of a new variety show when he heard the man was trying to jump.

He and dancer Blair ran to the end of the resort’s North Pier, where they found the man holding on by his fingertips.

But they managed to grab him and pull him to safety.

Police said the man was unharmed and was now at home with his family.

Carr told the Blackpool Gazette: ‘He was hanging by his fingertips and just said, "I don't want to live any more".'

Blair added: ‘Someone said, "That's Lionel Blair off the TV" and he did a double take.

‘I just thought, Oh my God – and reached out to him. He grabbed us of us both and we pulled him up. It was the most extraordinary thing. I couldn't believe it was really happening.’

Blair told the BBC he and Carr were having a drink in the North Pier bar after filming Carr’s End-of-the-Pier Show on Wednesday night when the drama unfolded.

He said: ‘The guy that looks after the pier came running into the bar and said, "Can anybody help me? There's a guy trying to commit suicide".’

‘We got his hand and said, "Come on, you don't want to die. You can't do that. Listen to us".’

Carr was filming the show as a pilot for a potential Channel 4 series.


Blair later told The Mirror: It really scared me - I've never experienced anything like that before We spent about 10 minutes talking to him. He just kept saying he wanted to end it all.'

And Carr said: 'We'd finished filming the show and I thought someone was taking the mickey. But when we got to the real end of the pier it was really scary. He was hanging by his fingers and saying , "I don't want to live".'

Published: 5 Nov 2021

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