...from the canals of his beloved Birmingham

Joe Lycett is to host a new weekly Friday night comedy show live from his Birmingham hometown.

The five-part Channel 4 series follows the success of the one-off Joe Lycett’s Big Pride Party,  which aired last year, and will follow the same format.

Lycett - who this week won the TV comedian gong at the Chortle Awards –  said: ‘I’m absolutely psyched and naturally very nervous about hosting a weekly live show from Birmingham, but it has been a dream of mine for many years and I look forward to some (controlled) late night chaos.’

The programme – which has the simple working title of The Joe Lycett Live Show  – will be shot on the banks of the second city’s canals.  Channel 4 says that each Friday  ‘local legends, LGBTQ+ heroes and allies will join [Joe], alongside celebrities and big-name guests from the worlds of comedy, television, music and film’.

It is being made by Rumpus Media with Lycett’s own company, My Options Were Limited.

Emily Hudd, joint managing director at Rumpus, said: ‘We are so excited that Joe is hosting this series from the centre of his universe – Birmingham – creating a truly inclusive show to which everyone is invited.

‘It’s a weekly celebration uniquely curated by Joe that harnesses both his mischief but also his warmth - it will be funny, silly and explicitly Joe Lycett.'

And Steve Handley, commissioning editor, for Channel 4, added:  ‘We are thrilled that Joe will be bringing his personal brand of mayhem to Friday nights and can’t wait to see his take on the events of the week, live from the canal banks of Birmingham.’

The  show, as with his Pride special, is said to have been inspired by Chris Evans’s groundbreaking 1990s show, TFI Friday.

Made by: Rumpus Media and My Options Were Limited
Commissioned by: Phil Harris, head of entertainment, and Steven Handley and Tom Beck, commissioning editors, for Channel 4
Executive producers: Ian Wimbush, Emily Hudd and Tim Dean
Series producer: Lisa Kirk
Production executive: Sarah Croker

Published: 10 Feb 2023