Q&As with all the Last One Laughing Halloween contestants

Last One Laughing returns to Prime Video for a Halloween special, airing from October 23. Jimmy Carr is back to host with help from Roisin Conaty. As before, contestants have to make their housemates laugh without cracking up themselves… but for the special, a scream gets you eliminated too. Here the participants – Jack Dee, Daisy May Cooper, Phil Wang, Lou Sanders, Reece Shearsmith, Harriet Dyer and Tom Allen – talk about the show

Daisy May Cooper

Did you feel more confident returning for the series having already taken part?

The first time I was on, I had to repress my laughs so much I thought I might combust. So, I don’t know if I felt more confident, but I thought I had a better idea of what to expect – except the Halloween twist really threw me off. I’m afraid of everything, especially other comedians.

Was your preparation for this series different from the first?

The key thing for me was to try and lean into my acting training. I tried to treat the experience like one long take of a scene,  that’s being filmed on very expensive equipment, that I’ve self-funded and the light is fading – so I have to sort myself out and not ruin the take by cracking up. 

That was my tactic last season too, but you saw how well that turned out. As long as I don’t laugh at myself – I think I’ll be OK.

Did you take any tips from the previous winners?

I didn’t… they’ve rubbed their wins in enough so I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction! 

But I kept repeating the mantra ‘Be more Bob’ through my head when I was in the house. It was something I lived and laughed by in the house, and it actually became quite meditative in the end. 

I think it’s a mantra I’ll take into my own life too, everyone needs to be a bit more Bob in my opinion. I was thinking of whacking it on a T-shirt and getting it on Etsy, what do you reckon?

Bob Mortimer was such a force, and I was so excited to meet him in that first series. Honestly, keeping that laugh in when he sang to me was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. 

How did you feel about seeing fellow series one recruit, Lou Sanders, enter the room?

I think you start to develop a bit of Stockholm Syndrome when you’re in the house for so long. In the first series we started to forget what the outside world looked like, and that there even was a world outside, beyond Jimmy’s all-seeing eyes and those four walls, where people are actually allowed to laugh out loud at your jokes. So it felt like a reunion with a fellow former inmate.

Who was the most dangerous player this time around?

Ooh that’s a tough one! Reece [Shearsmith] is the obvious choice, being a man made up of equal parts horror and hilarity, with a healthy dose of charm. 

But Jack Dee is such a legend of deadpan, I think he was a bit of a silent assassin. You could never quite tell if he was going to let out one of the most hilariously dry one-liners you’ve ever heard and completely set you off. 

 He somehow also simultaneously has the ability to not even raise an eyebrow at some of the nonsense that would send most other people packing.

I’m also a huge fan of Lou – she could well be my kryptonite this time.

Phil Wang

What made you want to take part in Last One Laughing: Halloween?

I've become a recent Halloween and horror convert. I’ve started doing Halloween parties and things like that, and just getting into all the lore and aesthetics of it all. I love autumn as well so to be able to take part in something that happens smack dab in the middle of autumn feels very me.

What were your tactics?

To be on the offensive. It's tempting to lean back and play a defensive game and then people get knocked out, but you need to be out there trying to get people laughing. 

I'm too calm, and measured, and slow-moving a man to scare anyone, I think! Although I do unintentionally scare people, just because my footsteps are so quiet for a big man. I'll just appear next to someone and they’ll go ‘guh!’ –  but it's hard to sneak up on anyone in that house. 

Another thing I'd do is go up to people I know, because you're more likely to make people you know giggle. That was another part of my tactics - to hope for people I knew to be in there. I guess hope isn't really a tactic…but I was definitely on the offensive from the outset.

Who were you most fearful of when they walked into the house?

Interesting…when I saw that Lou Sanders was in there, I thought, ‘Oh, no!’ That’s her natural habitat in that room. She's so unpredictable, she's always goofing around, and there's no distinction between her comedy self and just herself. 

She is just relentlessly joking around, and making rude innuendos, and she'll just catch you off guard. Although, at the same time, she’s the most likely to knock herself out because she’s put everything out there. She's so emotionally expressive that she's both most likely to make you laugh, but also most likely to laugh herself. So she's kind of like a kamikaze bomber, you know?

Was there anyone you thought you’d be able to crack?

I honed in on Lou, because she is so febrile. Also Tom Allen, because I know Tom, and he is quite a vivacious, giggly guy

What was harder - trying not to laugh, or not to scream?

In the end, for me, trying not to scream was hard. Because you can see a laugh coming, and you can engage defence systems. 

But a shock, by definition, comes out of nowhere, you can’t prepare for it. So it turned out to be really hard to defend yourself from a scream. I just naturally go, ‘guh!’ at scary things, which means I don't scream so much, but the parameters of what’s counted as a scream are down to Jimmy's discretion.

Did you try anything to distract yourself? Or to stifle a scream or a laugh?

Yeah, pinching, a lot of pinching. I looked it up, and pain is very good at stopping you from laughing… and I guess maybe also screaming. Mainly meditating too. 

I was really focusing on my breath, so I think there's a lot of me just deeply breathing. The sound guys are not going to be happy with me. It probably looks like I'm just really pissed off and sighing at everyone, but I’m just meditating to stave off any emotional reactions. 

Tom Allen

Have you watched any of the first two series of Last One Laughing?

Yes. What was so thrilling about it, particularly in the first series, was that no one knew quite what it was and it just flew. 

The idea of not laughing, or trying not to laugh is the best feeling. We all have memories from school, of being in classes or assemblies where you’d start getting the giggles but you know you are not allowed to laugh – that feeling of trying to restrict a laugh is tremendous. The show really taps into that energy.

Do you have any favourite moments?

So many moments. I thought Reece Shearsmith's Joker was just brilliant. As a fan of his, seeing the level of detail he puts in up close was a real treat. 

Also Daisy May Cooper's Joker which culminated in slamming into bits of set is just so funny. The show plays into the humour of things like Airplane! or 30 Rock, so deadpan that no one ever breaks, which I think is so funny.

Did you have any tactics going into the game?

My tactic was to pretend I was Dame Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, and to seem very haughty and disgusted by everything. 

I tried to not laugh by raising my eyebrows, because I think a lot of people, focus on their mouth, to stop laughing. They’ll pinch their cheek, or they’ll bite the inside of their lip. 

But I thought, actually, if you concentrate on your eyebrows, when you're laughing, then it draws your face up a bit, and so I did that. So, yes, I was constantly channeling an Edwardian Dowager Countess.

Who were you most worried about when you saw them walk through those doors?

I was most worried about Reece, actually, because I've never really interacted with him on any other programme. I'm a big fan of his work, and I think The League of Gentleman and Inside No. 9 are so profound. So in a way, I was just very thrilled to be working with him, because I know how he pays attention to all the details. 

He also knows so much about horror, as well as comedy, so I thought, ‘Oh gosh he’s going to be formidable at this game’. He couldn’t be more perfect for a Halloween series, really.

There've been comedians in series one and two who made themselves laugh, were you worried this might happen?

I was… With my Joker, I had to be very serious and really commit. There were a lot of moving parts, and there was a lot of pressure on that moment… but the more serious I played it, the more worried I was that I'd make myself laugh. There's something about trying to be serious, which is inevitably always so funny. 

And my tactic in normal life is just to laugh, but of course I couldn't do that. Laughter is such a valve, isn't it? It’s difficult to not have that kind of valve to release. It's the most unnatural thing.

Did you find it hard that people were not laughing at your jokes?

No, I'm quite used to that - you should have seen me when I used to go to the Edinburgh Fringe.

I quite like rehearsing things, though, and I've done some acting recently, and obviously when you film things with a crew they're not allowed to laugh because they'll be picked up on the microphones. 

So, I think just remembering to play into what you think is funny and honing in on that is quite a good skill. Just imagining that anyone not laughing at your jokes is just a member of the crew. Although now that I think of it, maybe the crew just didn’t find me very funny...

Lou Sanders

Do you think you had an advantage having done so well in series one?

No, because ultimately I’m still left with my own personality which is what poses a challenge every time. Yes I guess people were calling me Pappa Big Dog, but that’s more because I asked them to.

Did you use any of the same tactics to get you through or was this a different ball game?

I think I went in with more confidence and less tactics. I took any learnings and skills from series one and burnt them in the Halloween fires.

‘Naughty Taughty’ made quite the impact in series one, are there any moments that stand out to you from this series?

Personally, I loved seeing Jack Dee joining in on a sudden bout of singing and tap dancing! The man came alive – he was baptised by tap! If he had keeled over and died then and there, I think it would have been the most dignified, perfect way to go. Maybe he did? You’ll have to watch the show.

How did you feel about the rule change of no screaming?

Honestly, I hated that. I scream all the time; it's a woman’s prerogative. I lived with a flatmate for five years and I would scream every time he just came in the front room, and he’d say to me, ‘You’ve got to remember that you live with someone.’

Which did you find more difficult, series one or this Halloween series?

This Halloween series, because of the spooky stakes, and because I didn't have my bestie Harriet [Kemsley] in there. So, this was a lot harder.

Reece Shearsmith

What made you want to take part in Last One Laughing: Halloween?

I think it was partly the fact that it was a Halloween series, as I'm a big Halloween fan and my IP is horror and comedy. So it was a perfect mix of what I love!

So did the Halloween setting feel like familiar territory?

Yes, definitely. They've done the Last One Laughing house up brilliantly - it was like my house at Halloween! So it felt like a home from home. It was very much in my wheelhouse, and I enjoyed being part of a show that they'd tailored to be a sort of scary version of an already great show. 

When Jimmy told us that as well as laughing, you weren't allowed to scream, I was expecting some jumpy things and they really delivered on that.

Did you do anything to prepare before entering?

Well, you don’t know anyone else that's in it before you go in so I was genuinely completely surprised when I entered the room. 

You've got your Joker, which is something you can think about before, so I did work hard on a  spooky-themed thing for that. But I didn't have much else. Really, you've just got to wing it. 

It's so strange because it's unlike anything else. It's like doing a show and knowing it's going well, but with none of the reward of any laughs. Which is withering, it feels like the worst feeling in the world. 

In the end you've got to lean into it, and think even though this is the show, this bit isn't the show, it's watching this, that's the show. So you've got half an eye on thinking, ‘it is all really funny’, but just experiencing this strange vacuum of nothing. You’ve got to rewire your brain when you’re in there.

Was your strategy defence or attack?

I don't know how it's going to come across, but I feel like, for me, I was quite proactive and front-footed. I thought that was the way to be rather than look like I was a target, and appear as a bit of a sitting duck. I thought I'd nip that in the bud and try to be on the attack a bit. 

So I was marching up to people and thinking to myself, ‘Right, where can I push your buttons?’

I was a bit fearful of Jack Dee, because I thought he'd be hard to crack, seeing as his whole IP is that he's grumpy and doesn't laugh. So it was a challenge thinking about how I was going to get him to laugh, so I had to wrack my brain. He became a bit of a target for me. 

My strategy really was to just go around and take pot-shots at everyone trying to wear them down.

Were you more worried about breaking the rules by laughing or screaming?

Well, I think I was nervous that my downfall would be making myself laugh. But you do it involuntarily and only realise when you’re robbed of it how much you chuckle away at yourself while talking to others. So, you've got to really concentrate. To anyone else going in, that would be my advice, you've got to be really on your toes.

Was there anyone from the line-up you were particularly afraid of?

Jack Dee was scary. As the game started, I was frightened that I would be made to laugh by Tom Allen because I find him funny, and he's very quick-witted and I thought he might just say something that would get me. 

Also, the thing I didn't bet on was the guests and the cameos who came into the house, some of them were challenging to say at least. You think you've got the measure everybody in there, and then they’ll bring in this big gun that just gets you. Yeah, that was hard.

Jack Dee

What made you want to take part in Last One Laughing: Halloween?

I think it's one of those shows that has got broad appeal, but it's also quite cool. You can see the production quality a mile off, and there’s just such great quality people involved in it. 

When opportunities like this come up, those are the things that made me think this is something to consider.

Your specialty is deadpan humour, were you quietly confident that you’d be able to keep a straight face?

Well… no. I'm good at keeping a straight face on stage, but it's a very controlled environment. The rest of the time, I'm quite a corpser, so I knew that was going to be an issue for me.

Is there a situation or gag that will always make you laugh?

I suppose there's no specific thing, but I noticed, or I think I learned there actually, that what I find most difficult is when people invade my physical space. The proximity of someone being very close up, and saying something into your face is extremely hard to cope with. I mean, it is in life anyway, but, normally you can say, ‘Hey, back off.’ You can’t really do that in the room, because you don't want to be a vibe killer, but at the same time, you want to stay in the room.

Was there anyone you were particularly pleased to see when they entered?

Well, it was all kind of inverted, because the people I'm normally pleased to see, I was not pleased to see in there, because I think they’re all great and would pose a bit of a problem for me.

Was there anyone from the line-up you were hoping you wouldn’t have to face in a head-to-head?

Yeah, I think Lou Saunders, in a head-to-head, is daunting. That would require a lot of self-bracing before it happens. I think facing any one of them would be difficult really. I quite quickly realised that I didn't want to keep eye contact with anyone for too long.

Harriet Dyer

Have you watched any of the first two series of Last One Laughing? Do you have any favourite moments?

Me and my friend went to the Jurassic Coast to look for dinosaur fossils, and the first series had just come out, so we watched it together, and loved it, because it's great to watch with someone.

We arranged to watch the second season together, but then I went off to Australia for the Melbourne Comedy Festival, and loads of people there were talking about it, and I felt out of the loop, so I sneakily watched it without her. My friend doesn't know that, so she still thinks she’s waiting to watch the second one with me, and then I'm just going to pop up on her screen for this. Isn’t that mental!?

I absolutely loved Joe Wilkinson's Jokers from the first series. They were fantastic. Every single thing Bob did in both seasons was wondrous, and I really enjoyed Alan [Carr’s] sausage endeavours too!

Did you come in with a game plan, or did it immediately go out the window?

I’m not sure I did have a game plan, I just hoped I’d be able to make people laugh.

My partner always says when he watches me on my phone, he knows what I'm looking at by my face because it’s so expressive. So, I was worried about that. I planned to completely scrunch my whole face to act like a vortex, so if a laugh did start to come, it would just be consumed into the face vortex. 

As time went on though, I got so discombobulated as to what my face was doing and at one point I even got confused about which way up my mouth was supposed to be.

What was your survival technique when someone attempted to catch you out?

I would tell people what they were saying was funny, rather than laughing. I also found my eyes getting larger the more I found something funny.

People had said to me that they thought I'd be awful at the game because I laugh a lot. But in life, if ever anyone tells me that I can't do something, I'll want to prove them wrong. So I think my stubbornness was unknowingly a technique as well.

Who did you think would be the most dangerous player?

Jack said that he hasn't laughed since the 80s, so I thought he might be a bit of a challenge. 

Jack and Reece also said that if they scream, they scream from within, which threw me off. I mean, where is all the scream going? Surely, it's got to go somewhere! From where? From what orifice?  So, I knew from the outset these two were going to be really difficult.

Then later I was thinking, you know what, I’ve underestimated Phil here, but you just never know because when we do the games, the Jokers and when random people come in, all bets are off.

Which comedian were you most excited to see in the room?

Tom very much so, because I feel naturally at ease with him. Although in terms of this, maybe that’s not a good thing? I’d never met Lou or Daisy before and was really excited to see them in there; they were both so good in season one! They were both sweet, and there was a spirit of ‘let's us girls stick together…’  Until that went to shit and it was game time!

What do you think you learned about yourself from your time in the house?

I just had the best time! It was great to just be properly in the moment with the funniest people without any outside nonsense tapping at my head.

» Read interviews with Last One Laughing Halloween hosts Jimmy Carr and Roisin Conaty here.

Published: 13 Oct 2026