Joe Harry Lycett is a British comedian and television presenter. 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'sThe Great British Sewing Bee and Channel 4's consumer rights show, Joe Lycett's Got Your Back.
Career
In his early career as a 22-year-old comedian, Lycett appeared onstage alongside Jim Davidson. Davidson is known for his offensive jokes, which have been described as both racist and homophobic, and Lycett complained about Davidson's use of the racial slur 'chink' in one of his jokes. The two became friends while touring together. " views on race are incredibly misguided but he is very educated about it. He has read the Koran, and at one point told me in detail about the origins of Rastafarianism", Lycett told the Birmingham Mail in 2011. Lycett has appeared on television on 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 HereVirtually Famous, and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, and was a regular panelist on the E4 show Dirty Digest. He has also co-written narration on ITV2 shows The Magaluf Weekender and Ibiza Weekender. Lycett featured on Christmas Special with Jason Manford, Rev Richard Coles and Jo Joyner. Lycett also starred as one of the contestants in the fourth series of Taskmaster. Recently, Lycett has made several guest appearances on Sunday Brunch in the absence of one of the regular hosts. On the radio he 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 storySpooky and the Van which was broadcast in the Afternoon Reading slot on BBC Radio 4. In August 2013 he made his debut 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 also known as "the resident news hound" on Josh Widdicombe's XFM radio show, which was broadcast on Saturday mornings. In addition to his appearances on various radio stations, Lycett has also featured as a guest on numerous podcasts, including My Dad Wrote a Porno, SoundCheck Podcast,The Comedian's Comedian with Stuart Goldsmith, and the Richard Herring Leicester Square Theatre Podcast. Lycett was the 2009Chortle Student Comedian of the Year, the winner of Bath New Act competition in 2009, the 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 debut stand-up show Some Lycett Hot was nominated for the Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. 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, branded as a 'sexy Watchdog' in 2019 with help from various guests and Mark Silcox. The show takes on big corporations, such as airlines and banks, to provide justice for consumers, with a comedic spin. The series was renewed for a second series. Lycett describes the show as "a cross between Rogue Traders and RuPaul's Drag Race". 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 during the Christmas and New Year period. In February 2020, in response to a legal dispute between fashion company Hugo Boss and the Swansea-based Boss Brewing, Lycett changed his name by deed poll from Joe Lycett to Hugo Boss. He said that he was drawing attention to fashion company Hugo Boss'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 claims that Hugo Boss, the company, called the police following this incident. In April 2020, he changed his name back to Joe Lycett.
Personal life
Lycett was born in Hall Green, Birmingham. His parents are David and Helen Lycett. He attended King Edward VI Five Ways grammar school, studied Drama and English at the University of Manchester, and was awarded the 2009 Chortle Student Comedian of the Year. Lycett frequently refers to his bisexuality and pansexuality as part of his stand-up routines. In 2015, while performing in York, Lycett was given a parking ticket for parking illegally in a taxi rank. The ensuing trail of correspondence, between him and City of York Council, was recounted as an anecdote on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and then became the basis for one of his stand-up routines. In May 2019, Lycett got Birmingham Lord MayorYvonne Mosquito to officially open his kitchen extension. At first Mosquito declined, as it was not a public event, but after Lycett raffled four tickets to the event to the public she agreed.
