Celebrities Alan Carr and Lily Allen said Margate has a “dark side”, as they traded stories about the seaside town in a podcast.

The comedian and singer were chatting about coastal destination on podcast: Alan Carr’s ‘Life’s a Beach’.

Recalling his visit in last week’s episode, Alan said: “Bits of it are lovely.

“I did a show called Interior Design Masters and we did cafe week down there and we were walking along and I did my spiel down at the front.

“At Margate, Shoreditch by the sea, up and coming, fabulous, Turner, and then looked back, I’d done it in front of a sign that said: ‘Please do not sh*t in my alleyway’.”

Both stars agreed they had “mixed feelings” about the Thanet town.

Lily’s most recent connection to the area is Dreamland - a dramatic comedy about sisters coming together amid an unexpected pregnancy.

The series, which features actors Sheila Reed, Freema Agyeman amd Frances Barber, was set and filmed in Margate.

“I guess that was the premise of Dreamland in lots of ways,” explained the Smile singer.

“On the surface, it is very sort of happy and jolly and sunshine but it’s also got a dark side.”

“All seaside towns have that,” responded Alan.

“Even Brighton, when you go down there it’s got an underground.”

Margate, home to theme park Dreamland, has attracted world famous celebrities for days out and work, including Game of Thrones and The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal, who reportedly visited an art exhibition inspired by him.

Last week, Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor Tom Lenk shared a visit of his trip to the town- enjoying a sauna session, a sea-dip and some brunch.

Margate has also been used to film movie Empire of Light, starring Olivia Colman and Colin Firth, and EastEnders.