Joe Lycett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joe Lycett
Lycett performing in 2018
Birth name	Joe Harry Lycett
Born	(1988-07-05) 5 July 1988 (age 36) Birmingham, England
Medium	Stand-up, television
Education	University of Manchester (BA)
Years active	2009–present
Children	1

Joe Harry Lycett (born 5 July 1988), also known by the self-given moniker Mummy, and formerly as Hugo Boss, is a British comedian, television presenter and painter. Known for his sardonically camp demeanour, public stunts and elaborate set designs, Lycett has been described as one of Britain's most popular comedians.

Lycett began performing stand-up in 2009 and won the Chortle Student Comedian of the Year the same year. He has appeared on TV shows including Live at the Apollo, Taskmaster, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, 8 Out of 10 Cats, QI, as the announcer on Saturday BBC One show Epic Win, the narrator for Ibiza Weekender and as the presenter on BBC Two's The Great British Sewing Bee and Channel 4's Joe Lycett's Got Your Back and Late Night Lycett.

In February 2020, Lycett briefly changed his name by Deed Poll to "Hugo Boss" as part of a protest against the fashion brand of the same name. He is also recognised as one of Britain's most high-profile queer or pansexual men, and has partaken in advocacy for the LGBTQ community on many occasions.

Early life

Lycett was born to parents David and Helen Lycett in Hall Green, Birmingham. He grew up in Solihull.

He attended King Edward VI Five Ways grammar school, and then studied drama and English at the University of Manchester.

Career

Stage

Early in his career as a 22-year-old comedian, Lycett appeared on stage alongside Jim Davidson. The two became friends while touring together. "[Jim Davidson's] views on race are incredibly misguided but he is very educated about it. He has read the Quran, and at one point told me in detail about the origins of Rastafarianism", Lycett told the Birmingham Mail in 2011.

In 2015, while performing in York, Lycett was issued with a parking ticket for parking illegally in a taxi rank. The ensuing paper trail of correspondence, between him and City of York Council, was recounted as an anecdote on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and later becoming the basis for one of his best-known stand-up routines.

In June 2022, a member of the audience at a Belfast show called the PSNI to complain about a joke that referenced a donkey. Lycett bemoaned being investigated by the police over a joke, but was happy to recount his enjoyment from repeating the joke, which he regarded as one of his best, in his messages to the police. The investigation was subsequently closed.

Television and video

Lycett has appeared on television in Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Celebrity Juice, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Spicks and Specks, Would I Lie to You?, Insert Name Here, Virtually Famous, and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, and was a regular panellist on the E4 show Dirty Digest. He has co-written narration on ITV2 shows The Magaluf Weekender and Ibiza Weekender. Lycett featured on Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled Christmas Special with Jason Manford, Rev Richard Coles, and Jo Joyner. Lycett starred as one of the contestants in the fourth series of Taskmaster with Mel Giedroyc, Hugh Dennis, Lolly Adefope and Noel Fielding and has made several guest appearances on Sunday Brunch in the absence of one of the regular hosts.

On 12 February 2019, Joe Lycett took over as the new presenter on the fifth series of BBC Two's The Great British Sewing Bee.

Lycett started presenting his consumer show Joe Lycett's Got Your Back. The show takes on big corporations, such as airlines and banks, to provide justice for consumers with a humorous spin. The series was renewed for a second series. Lycett describes the show as "a cross between Rogue Traders and RuPaul's Drag Race".

In 2021, Lycett presented the television documentary Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant.

On 4 September 2022, Lycett appeared as a panellist on the début issue of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. The show featured an interview with Liz Truss, who at the time was considered highly likely to win, which she later did, the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election and therefore become Prime Minister. The cost-of-living crisis, caused in part by high energy bills, was a current significant issue. Truss had given few interviews since the start of the election campaign to elect the Leader of the Conservative Party. On the show, Truss endeavoured to give assurances. When asked for comment by Kuenssberg, Lycett said with deadpan delivery that he was "very Right-wing" and that he loved the clarity and was reassured by Truss's statements about the proposed measures to address the crisis. Deploying apophasis, he suggested that he would not say that from dregs Truss was the "backwash of available MPs". This was met with incredulity from Kuenssberg and titters from other guests. In a similar vein, Lycett went on to state Truss was right to ignore economists' stark predictions. Several days later, MP Steve Brine asked BBC Director-General Tim Davie about "the Joe Lycett débacle" when Davie appeared before the parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

In March 2023 Lycett began hosting the comedy variety show Late Night Lycett that includes brief interviews with celebrity guests and comedy segments. One comedy segment includes a celebrity minding Lycett's local corner shop in Kings Heath because the owner is in the studio audience with Lycett crossing over live to the celebrity in the shop to chat to them about how things are going or asking the guests if there is anything they want from the shop.

Radio and podcasts

On the radio Lycett has been a guest on Scott Mills, Greg James and Nick Grimshaw's programmes on BBC Radio 1 and on Richard Bacon's programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. In August 2011, he wrote and performed the short story "Spooky and the Van" which was broadcast in the Afternoon Reading slot on BBC Radio 4. In August 2013, he made his début on Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4. In September 2016, he took over from Miles Jupp as the host of It's Not What You Know, also on BBC Radio 4. Lycett was known as "the resident news hound" on Josh Widdicombe's XFM radio show, which was broadcast on Saturday (and later Sunday) mornings.

In addition to his appearances on various radio stations, Lycett has featured as a guest on numerous podcasts, including SoundCheck Podcast, The Comedian's Comedian with Stuart Goldsmith, and Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast.

From July 2018, there were two series of Joe Lycett's Obsessions on BBC Radio 4.

On 17 August 2019 and 26 October 2019, Lycett stood in for Rylan Clark-Neal on Rylan on Saturday on BBC Radio 2. In December 2019 he returned to Radio 2 covering Sara Cox's drive-time show over the Christmas and New Year period.

Name change

In February 2020, in response to a legal dispute between fashion company Hugo Boss and the Swansea-based Boss Brewing, he changed his name by deed poll from "Joe Lycett" to "Hugo Boss". Boss said that he was drawing attention to the company's use of legal action and cease and desist letters relating to alleged copyright violations against numerous small businesses, including Boss Brewing, for use of the word Boss. In the second series of Joe Lycett's Got Your Back, the comedian launched a fake fashion show celebrating the release of a wrist brace under the name Hugo Boss outside the flagship store of the fashion company with the same name in Regent Street, London. Lycett asserts that Hugo Boss, the company, reported the incident to the Metropolitan Police. In April 2020, he changed his name back to Joe Lycett.

Painting

Lycett is also a self-taught painter and has had his artwork exhibited. In 2018, a sculpture of his, CHRIS, was accepted by Royal Academy and listed for sale as being worth £12,500,000. CHRIS is still for sale on Lycett's website for the same asking price.

Charity work

Following comments in early November 2023 from then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman that homelessness was a "lifestyle choice," Lycett used a stock image of pot-pourri to raise over £50,000 for homelessness charity Crisis.

Awards

In 2009, Lycett was awarded that year's Chortle Student Comedian of the Year award and was also the winner of Bath New Act Competition. He was runner-up in the 2009 Laughing Horse New Act of the Year, and a finalist in the 2011 BBC New Comedy Awards. In 2012, his début stand-up show Some Lycett Hot was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. In October 2023, Lycett won The Comedy Award at the 2023 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards. In March 2024, Lycett was awarded a BAFTA Television Award for his evening chat show, Late Night Lycett.

Personal life

In an October 2024 interview, Lycett revealed he had a girlfriend, who he refers to using the pseudonym "Denise" to "keep her out of the public eye". On 25 October 2024, Lycett announced the birth of his first son with "Denise" at Birmingham Women's Hospital.

Lycett lives in Birmingham and owns a flat in Peckham, south London. In May 2019, Lycett arranged for the Birmingham Lord Mayor Cllr Yvonne Mosquito to officially open his kitchen extension. At first she declined, as it was not a public event, but after Lycett raffled four tickets for the event to the public Lord Mayor Mosquito agreed to attend.

Lycett has been a supporter of West Bromwich Albion FC since 2012.

Filmography

Television

Stand-up DVDs