Why has Alan Carr bought a castle and where is it?

Just months after being crowned king of The Celebrity Traitors castle, Alan Carr has set his sights on a real one.

The comedian has bought 19th Century Ayton Castle in the Scottish Borders, which has 17 bedrooms and comes with 160 acres of land and its own working railway.

His efforts will form the backbone of a new TV series following his attempt to turn the ageing estate into a workable home.

Carr said he was in his "turret-era" after spending time at Ardross Castle last summer and that the purchase was made as he approaches a landmark birthday.

"Some men when they have a midlife crisis buy a Lamborghini or grow a ponytail, but me - I want my very own castle," he said.

"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 and as I turn 50, I feel it's my time.

"All I want is a turret to call my own - get me over that drawbridge."

The comedian's journey will be filmed for a new Disney+ programme.

The programme has the working title Castle Man in reference to his former Channel 4 talk show Chatty Man.

Carr is the new custodian of the 19th Century baronial landmark near Eyemouth.

The property had been put up for sale with an asking price of more than £3.25m.

The sprawling Scottish Borders estate, set in more than 160-acres, is one of only two baronial buildings designed by architect James Gillespie Graham.

The castle's history stretches back to a medieval tower house, and its interiors were once decorated by Edinburgh firm Bonnar and Carfrae.

Their work had an unlikely brush with literary fame: during a visit in 1873, Mark Twain was so taken with the dining‑room mantelpiece at Ayton Castle that he purchased it. It now sits in the Mark Twain House and Museum in Connecticut.

The site also includes a rare 16th Century beehive-shaped dovecot and a private chapel.

The previous owners, who bought the property in 2014, carried out substantial refurbishment.

As part of that, they built a 600m (1,969 ft) narrow‑gauge railway that runs through part of the grounds, which visitors to the castle can pay to ride.