‘WE’RE P*SSED OFF WE CAN’T BE THE FIRST DISABLEDS ON STRICTLY’
Boyd Hilton tries to keep order over Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker
Heat is sitting around a table in an east London showbiz agent ’s office with Adam Hills and Josh Widdicombe, hosts of Channel 4’s topical comedy chat show The Last Leg. The show’s third presenter – Alex Brooker – is on the M25 driving to his new home in Huddersfield, with his wife Lynsey and their nine-month-old baby, Mia, so he’s talking to us all on his iphone on loudspeaker. It’s a tad awkward, especially when Alex’s car goes through a tunnel and his phone cuts out. But somehow the arrangement of Adam and Josh shouting to him over the phone adds to the general tone of freewheeling anarchy, which is pretty much what The Last Leg is like most weeks. The show is now in its 12th series on Friday nights on Channel 4 – a pretty remarkable feat when you consider it started out as an addendum to the channel’s Paralympic coverage in 2012, bringing together Adam, 47, and Josh, 34, who knew each other from the stand-up circuit. They were joined by former sports journalist Alex, 33, not actually a professional comedian at all, but who has proved to be every bit as funny as Adam and Josh. Their trawl through the week’s
news, viral sketches and nononsense grillings of politicians have helped make the show a must-watch. The programme is effectively one giant piss-take as the guys make merciless fun of each other, their disabilities (Josh is the only one of the three to have a full set of limbs) and of whatever’s going on in the world. And so it is with this interview. Let the piss-taking begin…
First of all, Alex, why are you moving up north? Josh: Can I second that question? Alex: Well, my wife is from Huddersfield, so we’ve bought our first house there. Adam [Interrupting.] For the purposes of this interview, can we say you’re moving up north to bring the voice of the common people to The Last Leg and keep us out of our elitist bubble? Alex: You can say that, yes… For a show that started out as part of Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage, are you surprised The Last Leg has ended up as the main topical comedy show currently on British TV? Josh: Yes, I don’t think we ever thought we’d end up here. And I don’t mean doing this interview with heat while Alex is driving to Huddersfield on his hands-free phone. Alex: It’s not as good as Corden’s show, though. Josh: What? Alex: James Corden’s show… He’s killing it out there [in the US]. Some of their sketches are brilliant. That sketch he did where he dressed up as the clown from It was brilliant. And I wish we’d invented Carpool Karaoke… Josh: Our version of Carpool Karaoke would have been like this, Alex. [Laughs.] But ours is the kind of show where if you pitched what we do now as the concept of the series, it would seem like such a mess. It’s just evolved into what it is. Adam: I think of it as being like The Daily Show, but for a country that goes down the pub on a Friday night. It’s just three blokes hanging out, having a bit of a chat. And hopefully the viewers have got to know us and watch us grow and change. I mean I think Alex has particularly matured… Alex: Oh yes, I agree. I think I’ve matured tremendously, both as a man and as a television personality. [Laughs.] Who have been the best and worst guests on the show? Josh: We’ve had a pretty good hit rate. We sometimes privately discuss the five worst guests we’ve had and there’s no one who was that bad. At worst, we might get someone who’s a bit quiet. The best ones are people like Sue Perkins and Alan Davies, who really thrive on the show being live and getting to be opinionated. And I really enjoyed it when Paxman was on and he clearly hated us all. Alex: I loved having Ricky Gervais on as I’m a fan of The Office and he was great. Russell Crowe was good fun. Obviously, Carrie Fisher was amazing. Adam: I’ve still got a piece of plastic dog shit that Carrie Fisher gave me when she was on the show. Josh: Alex is really sticking his neck out there by naming the three biggest guests we’ve had on the show… Alex: Well, I could name other people but a lot of them I don’t like, so I don’t want to mention them. What about the best and worst politicians you’ve
‘I’ve still got a piece of plastic sh*t that Carrie Fisher gave me’
interviewed? How was it with Boris Johnson?
Josh: What do I think of Boris? [Ponders.] I think he’s a wanker. Actually, I was listening to a documentary about Brexit on Radio 4 the other day…
Alex [Interrupts] Hold on, did you say, “I was listening to a documentary about Brexit on Radio 4”? That must be the most boring sentence you’ve ever said.
Adam: When Boris was on, I noticed that he caught sight of
himself on the monitor and his hair was looking too tidy, so he messed it up.
Alex: I lost contact with you then… One minute, Josh was talking about Radio 4 and my iphone cut out and suddenly it went to the song I was listening to on my boy band playlist - N’sync’s
Girlfriend. It went from Josh to Justin Timberlake, which is what I’ve always wanted to happen. Would you like to have Donald Trump on?
Alex: I’d love it. I’d ask him so many questions about his Twitter feed.
Josh: This is very hypothetical, though. It’s not like we could actually get Donald Trump on.
Adam: Well, hold on. We got Al Gore, and Hillary is doing a book tour and coming to London. I’m not gonna lie – they are trying to get Hillary on the show.
Alex: Hold on, did I hear you say they are genuinely trying to get Hillary Clinton?
Adam: Yep! It’s true. Josh: I just want to distance myself from that claim because by the time this is published, it’s going to be very clear we didn’t get Hillary Clinton! Have any of you been asked to do talent shows like Strictly and would you be tempted?
Josh: Well, we had Ed Balls on and, until you’ve seen Ed Balls doing Gangnam Style in real life, you haven’t lived. You think it’s good on TV, but it’s ten times better in the flesh.
Adam: I was asked to do the Australian version, and didn’t. But I did sit next to Ore Oduba at the TV Choice Awards and he was saying if you’re ever asked to do it, you must because it’s an amazing experience.
Josh: Yes, but he won! I doubt John Sergeant says the same thing. I wouldn’t do it. I don’t like dancing. If any of us were going to do it, it would 100 per cent be Hills. You’d really enjoy it because you’re a showman, and I can totally imagine you throwing your leg in the air and catching it or something. And to be the first one-legged Strictly star…
Adam: Well, Heather Mills did it over in America, and [paralympian] Johnny Peacock’s doing it this year.
Alex: Yeah, that’s the problem for me – it would have been good to be the first disabled to do it, but now Johnny Peacock’s doing it. It’s pissed me off because he’s going to be really good. There’s no point being the second disabled is there?
Josh: Well, that’s what you are on our show [Laughs]. What about the Jungle? Would any of you do that?
Josh: Actually, years ago, the three of us were all asked to do
I’m A Celebrity at the same time. Adam: Oh yes! I forgot about that. Josh: I’m a vegetarian, so it wouldn’t work out at all. You could do it, Adam.
Adam: I wouldn’t eat that stuff just for TV entertainment. I’d be like, “Piss off!”
Josh: Yes, there’s a difference between needing to survive and needing to help Wayne Bridge have a nice dinner.
Adam: I’d rather take part in a show that’s more sporty, like Splash! Josh: You’re always saying you want to do Splash! You’ve been desperate to do it for years. Or the other one you want to do is Bounce – the gymnastic one. Adam: You mean Tumble. Yeah, I would have done that… ■