Joe hosts more unpredictable mayhem
Late Night Lycett
Channel 4, 10pm
The late great Peter Ustinov once said: “Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.”
And there’s no doubt that when it is used correctly, humour can play a vital role in addressing important social issues.
Of all the comedians currently on the British circuit, Joe Lycett is arguably doing more to tackle political injustices than anyone else.
The artist formerly known as Hugo Boss is well known for taking on people of authority with his viral PR stunts, calling out politicians, taking on oil companies and pretending to shred £10,000 in protest of David Beckham’s work with World Cup host Qatar.
In 2020, Joe changed his name by deed poll to Hugo Boss, in protest of the fashion brand’s treatment of small businesses, while a couple of months ago, he looked into the mind-boggling quantities of untreated sewage that are discharged into our rivers and seas.
In a recent interview with the News Agents podcast, the comic and campaigner said comedy is going in the right direction.
“I think it’s just that we’ve got more interesting as an industry, and started doing more interesting things,” he said.
Although he is no ordinary comedian, the 35-year-old Brummie’s show Late Night Lycett is actually a chat show (albeit with a few twists), a tried-and-tested vehicle for many comics down the years .
The second series of the entertainment extravaganza begins tonight (just an hour after the conclusion of Travel Man), as Joe returns to his home town Birmingham.
In the first run, some of the biggest names in the showbiz world came to Digbeth to meet the host, with guests including Dame Joan Collins, Dame Joanna Lumley, Richard E Grant, Rob Delaney, Jonathan Ross, Judi Love, Alan Carr, Alison Hammond, Munroe Bergdof and Daisy May Cooper.
We saw Natalie Cassidy and Paul Chuckle running riot in Joe’s local corner shop, a new national sweetheart was created in the form of production trainee Linda Biscuits, and controversial straighttalking newsreader Richard Yewtree challenged the woke agenda.
“The first series of Late Night Lycett was the most fun I’ve ever had making TV,” Joe said.
“From Paul Chuckle destroying my local corner shop to Katherine Ryan being trapped on a floating barge, the whole thing feels like a crazed fever dream.
“I can’t wait to go bigger and wilder in Series 2.”
He also tweeted: “I begged them to move it to London (Birmingham is SO grey and DULL) but they insisted it ticks a load of ‘regional boxes’ and will give them ‘a leg to stand on if a drunk culture sec writes a think piece about us being London-centric.’
Meanwhile, Steve Handley, Commissioning Editor for Entertainment at Channel 4 added: “I’m utterly thrilled we are returning to Digbeth and can’t wait to see the unpredictable mayhem Joe has planned to top the first series.
“Will Richard Yewtree return, or will it ‘finally have been proved’?
Will Hardev finally remember which celeb is running his shop? Will Linda Biscuits behave? What will Joe do to top giving away his actual car? Anything can happen and I can’t wait to find out.”