Comic admits he ate too much then 'didn't say a word' on air

Phil Wang has revealed that he had his ‘worst ever panel show appearance’ was on Would I Lie To You – because he ate too much beforehand.

The comic said: ‘It's a good show. It’s very popular, so real shame to do badly on it. And I basically didn't say a word, because just beforehand I'd had the biggest fried rice of my life.’

He told the food-based podcast Dish that it was all down to the generous backstage catering on the show.

‘When you get to the studio, someone will come and very kindly say, what do you want to eat?’ he told hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett. ‘I had a big Wagamama’s fried rice… I got so excited because this was early on. I was like, "wow, can I have anything?"

‘So I had a fried rice with a miso soup and gyoza on the side. I just loaded up and they were like, "all right, Phil, we're starting now, and I'm like, "ugh".

‘All the blood in my brain had gone down to my stomach. I was dehydrated from the salt of the soy, so my mouth was just ugh, and I couldn't think because my brain was dehydrated.

‘So I just sat there struggling, drinking water for like two hours. I was on with Lee Mack, who’s hard enough to keep up with when you aren't dying of dehydration.’

He also told of how  it was another panel show that convinced his parents that a comedy career was viable.

‘Have I Got News For You was when my mother finally stopped suggesting I get an MBA,’ Wang said.

‘Before that point, she was like, "Oh, how's comedy going? Oh, that's wonderful dear. Have you thought about doing an MBA? Thought about getting a business? You know, just in case."’

Wang also spoke about how important food was in Malaysia, where he grew up.

‘Food in Malaysia is what booze is here,’ he told the hosts. ‘Malaysians eat the way Brits go to the pub. It's a social thing. So like coffee shops, hawker centres, they're open in Malaysia – some of them open all night, they're open late. And you, that's where you go to socialise in the way that you go for a pint here.  So that's the amount of energy and passion that goes into food in Malaysia.

‘Every meal is like hot and tasty and spicy and delicious. Whereas in the UK, I found that meals could be a little more functional. They're about getting you through the afternoon.’

Wang also revealed that he wrote a joke that  Amy Schumer used in the Oscars. The American comic first  got in touch with Wang after his half-hour comedy set aired on Netflix,  ‘and we've been friends ever since’.

‘Then she found out she was going to host the Oscars, and she asked around a bunch of comedian friends if they had any jokes to offer,’ he explained. ‘So I wrote a few and she used my one…. about the Will Smith movie, King Richard about the father of the Williams sisters.

‘The joke I wrote was, "Isn't it amazing? After years of Hollywood ignoring women's stories, this year we finally got a movie about the incredible Williams sisters’… dad."

"So she did that joke, and it cuts to Will Smith and he's laughing. You have some surreal moments in this career, but watching Will Smith laugh at the Oscars to my joke was, that was weird.’

• Dish, hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett is available on all podcast providers now.

Published: 25 Jan 2023