It’s nice to be stared at for positive reasons for a change
Comedian Lee Ridley has not looked back since winning Britain’s Got Talent as Lost Voice Guy. MARION McMULLEN finds out why he’s heading back to stand-up when lockdown ends
How has you life changed since winning Britain’s Got Talent? WELL obviously, I’m a lot richer for a start, but please don’t tell the department of work and pensions.
Seriously though, winning the show has changed my life in so many ways. I’m busier than I ever was before as a comedian. I’ve been on nationwide tour and I have also written a book called Only In It For The Parking.
The public have been so supportive as well. I’m always getting stopped for selfies and having people congratulate me and it has been really nice. I’m very grateful for all the kind words I have received.
One of the best things to happen since I won is that people are engaging with me a lot more than they would have in the past. For the first time they seem comfortable talking to a disabled person.
I’m used to being stared at for negative reasons, so it’s nice to be stared at for positive reasons for a change.
You seem to have a very positive attitude to life. Has that helped during the current lockdown?
I REALLY don’t think I have a positive attitude to life at all. I’m not always as happy as I am on stage! I guess I’m just lucky that I can see the funny side of things a lot of the time.
Being able to laugh about stuff has certainly helped during lockdown though, and it’s helped with living with a disability as well. Joking about my condition helps me cope a lot. I’ve always seen the funny side of my disability and that’s been very important to me.
I also joke about my disability as a defence mechanism. As long as I’m laughing at myself, it means that no one else can laugh at me first. In that way, I think that comedy is a very powerful tool.
What is the first thing you want to do when restrictions are lifted?
I’M definitely looking forward to going back to The Stand Comedy Club in Newcastle. Even when I’m not performing there, it’s somewhere that I love to go. It’s just such a friendly place so I’ve been missing it a lot while I’ve been stuck at home.
Have you ever been tempted to use the Queen Elizabeth or Yoda vocal options available to you on the voice app you use?
APART from during my act, I haven’t used them to their full potential. I was very tempted to use the Queen’s voice when I met Harry and Meghan at the Royal Variety Performance but I bottled out in the end.
I’m sure he would have seen the funny side but I didn’t want to risk getting locked up in the Tower of London.
Any tech malfunctions?
MY worst tech disaster was probably when I was trying to chat someone up in a bar but my talker decided that it didn’t want to work at that exact moment.
In the end, I had to resort to writing everything down on my phone and then giving it to the woman to read. It killed the flow of the conversation and definitely ruined the moment.
Needless to say, all my friends just watched me struggle and found it hilarious.
Have you ever met your comedy heroes?
I’VE met quite a few of them now, which still feels a bit surreal at times. One of my biggest heroes is Ross Noble. I first met him when I went to see his show at the City Hall in Newcastle.
During this gig, he did a very funny bit about Stephen Hawking, which included doing an impression of the way he speaks. The whole thing was hilarious and I wanted to tell him how much I’d enjoyed it.
After the show, I was waiting for him at the stage door trying to type something out to say. Suddenly, I saw him come out of the stage door before I was ready. Panic set in as I wondered what I was going to say. He walked right up to me and said hello.
In that moment, I typed in ‘do you want to see who can do the best Stephen Hawking impression?’ and pressed the speak button.
Thankfully he saw the funny side and roared with laughter and I felt so great.
What has been the reaction to your book?
EVERYONE has enjoyed reading it. At least that’s what they’ve told me, so I hope that’s true.
I was worried what my mum was going to say about the time I lost my talker at the Creamfields Festival because I’d never told her about it.
It was such a great story though, so I had to include it in the book.
Thankfully, mum didn’t send me to my room when she read about it.
If you ruled the world what’s the first law you would pass?
I WOULDN’T trust myself to rule the world. I’d probably turn into a disabled version of Donald Trump.
■ I’m Only in it For The Parking by Lee Ridley is now available as an ebook or audiobook from Amazon.
■ GO to lostvoiceguy. com for comedy updates.