It’s not about the little people in the company...we want the bosses
JOE Lycett is a selfproclaimed “overthinker”.
Which is why the Brummie comedian admits he does feel a little bad sometimes about going after companies in his Channel 4 show.
Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back – which is returning for a second series – sees the 31-year-old stand-up star investigate consumer complaints from members of the public, often going undercover in a quest for justice.
But while he sometimes leaves shoots wondering if he’s said the wrong thing, he’s at peace with why they do the show – to get genuine results.
“It’s never about taking on a receptionist or about the little people in the company,” notes the TV personality, also known for presenting The Great British Sewing Bee, and for appearances on shows such as 8 Out Of 10 Cats. “We always try and get to the top people; the people who are ultimately responsible if there’s bad practice.” In episode one of the new series, Joe investigates the number of packages the courier service Hermes loses. They didn’t catch up with the CEO in his office, but they did manage to get him on the phone instead, says Joe. “It meant I could say, ‘Are you going to do something about this? What’s your plan?”’
He continues: “They’re people at the end of the day, and I never try to be rude or whatever.
“I always try to present the stuff as gently and as humorously as possible.”
As for what else we can expect in the new episodes, the funnyman learned plenty of lessons from the first series.
“When you’re going into companies and you’re secretly filming, I didn’t realise the amount of protection that you need legally before you can do just the slightest thing,” he suggests.
“And it’s really good that they have that because it’s protecting me and the channel from getting massively sued. The channel has been so good at allowing mad ideas and facilitating stuff.”
When it comes to him as a performer, he knew there was “massive room for improvement” when it comes to the studio segments of the show.
“I’ve been doing these little training sessions with a good friend of mine who’s a theatre director, and he’s been helping me essentially get natural and loose with auto-cue.
“It’s really transformed how I feel in studio.”
Joe is a lovely interviewee; it seems like he’d be happy to chat all day, and it’s clear he cares about his work.
So, it’s not surprising to hear he always makes an effort with fans who approach him in public.
“It’s a cliche, but the people who enjoy your work and who come up and say, ‘I enjoyed that and I liked that’, they are the people who ultimately are keeping you in work.
“And so, it would be rude and ungrateful of me to be anything but polite.
“I enjoy it, ultimately; particularly when I’ve had a drink, I love being famous. It’s so fun.”
However, asked if he’d ever star in a reality show such as I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! or Strictly Come Dancing, he protests: “No, thank you!
“I mean, who knows – there might come a point when I really need the money,” he adds.
“But at this point, I don’t. “I never wanted to be famous, I just wanted to be creative for my job, and perform. I like to show off.
“I don’t go to celeb events or whatever; that’s not really my vibe.”
He does enjoy some chill out time too, though.
“I’ve got really into gardening. I could talk about this for hours, but I just caught the bug in the last few years, and I’ve got such plans for my little garden in Birmingham.
“I don’t have kids, I’m not nurturing another human, so nurturing something else is really fulfilling.” ●●Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back returns to Channel 4 on Friday, April 10 at 8pm.