...as a Sun journalist brands comics a bunch of 'nasty, needy egomaniacs'

Two very different opinions of comedians have emerged today.

In The Sun, TV critic Ally Ross wrote: ‘Television is filled with all sorts of human horrors. In my experience, the worst of the lot, though, are comedians, who tend to be nasty, morose, selfish, short-tempered, needy, back-biting, point-scoring egomaniacs.’

Meanwhile, in a podcast Alex Horne has claimed ‘there aren't many arseholes’ in comedy.

He said the fact that stand-ups generally have to earn their stripes by working their way up the circuit tends to keep them grounded. 

Speaking to Kate Thornton on her podcast, White Wine Question Time, the Taskmaster creator said: ‘I  didThe Wheel recently with Michael McIntyre, who is a real hero of mine… He’s probably the most well-known comedian in the country, and I think he's so funny. But he's also really nice. 

‘People always ask me, what's Michael McIntyre like? I don't know why, but that's the question they ask. And actually, Jimmy Carr as well. Jimmy Carr was so nice to me. We did Montreal together years ago, which is a big comedy festival, and I didn't know anyone, and  he took me out to dinner and introduced me to lots of other people. 

‘People wouldn't believe how nice he is. He really looks out for people and he pushes people. Michael’s the same. He's lovely with people. 

’In comedy, I think you have to earn your stripes. It’s very rare that someone turns famous at 17 in the comedy world… I think if you haven't worked your way up, I think you're more likely to go wrong. Maybe.’

Horne also spoke of his long-term friendship with Tim Key, which dates back to their student days.

He explained how Horne pretended to go to Cambridge to get into the Footlights comedy troupe, when he had actually gone to Sheffield Uni and just happened to live in a village nearby called Impington. 

‘He's a couple of years older than me, which makes me very happy,’ Horne said. ‘He turns 49 when I turn 47 in a month or two. 

‘He auditioned to be in a pantomime that I wrote when I was at college there, and he turned up and he was by far the funniest person. But then rumour  got round that he's not actually a student at Cambridge. He lied, but we sort of brushed it under the carpet.  

‘It's a great origin story. Some people were outraged. But actually, The Footlights this reputation of being a bit elitist…but  you don't have to be a student to be in it. Anyone can audition to go. And people don't know this… it’s meant to be open to all. So, it's great. That's how I met him. 

That was 27 years ago. And he's now the godfather, a useless godfather, to my eldest. A terrible godfather in a good way. You know, he used to have a system of giving him a pound coin every time he saw him, but that just meant that he actively avoided him.’

• Alex Horne’s episode of  White Wine Question Time was released today.

Published: 20 Jun 2025