Comic gets an alcohol licence for a new C4 chat show

Joe Lycett is to host a new live entertainment series for Channel 4 set inside his own pub.

The comic is getting a personal licence to sell alcohol to let him open the paisley-carpeted East London boozer for an hour each week.

'I've always wanted to run a pub that only exists for an hour a week, for the purposes of a TV concept, and I'm thrilled beyond words to embark on the extended process of applying for a licence to sell and serve alcohol,' he said.

'Filling in government-mandated paperwork has always been a passion of mine, and I only hope that at some point it involves the presentation of at least one form of photographic ID. Pretty much the only disappointment is that in addition to this enthralling form-filling process, I will also have to make a television series, as this is apparently the only way to make the whole tax dodge work.

'Nevertheless, I will meet my obligations to sit in front of a camera welcoming celebrities into the pub for great conversations and top comedy, it says here, and generally creating an unmissable event that will brighten your Friday evenings for six weeks. Those are all the words that I have been requested to say. Now I can return my attention to figuring out how to get round being locked out of gov.uk.'

The Lycett Arms will broadcast live every Friday at 10pm with a different celebrity 'pub manager' each week. The  pub will also twin with a real local from elsewhere in the UK as part of the show.

The six-part series, due to air later this year, is made by Bango Studios and Lycett’s own company My Options Were Ltd, and commissioned by Tom Beck for Channel 4.

Beck said: 'Enticing Joe Lycett back onto Channel 4 screens has been a long and arduous process, involving months of delicate negotiations, emotional resilience and, in the end, the promise of legally binding admin.

‘Thankfully, Joe's appetite for bureaucracy remains undimmed, and we are delighted that he has agreed to spend Friday nights running a pub that is open for one hour a week, while also reluctantly making what we are legally obliged to describe as a brilliant new live entertainment series.'

Emily Hudd and Iain Wimbush of Bango Studios, who are executive producing alongside Lycett, said: in a statement 'We're delighted that we will be helping to facilitate one of Joe's lifelong dreams; to set up and run his own pub, with extremely limited opening hours, and transmit it live on Channel 4.

‘It's an absolute thrill to be working with Joe again on a show which promises to be an exhilarating slice of live entertainment joy - so long as all the paperwork comes through on time.'

Lycett is currently working through the red tape needed to complete an approved training course and exam to gain his Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders.

Published: 30 Jun 2026