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29th Jul 2022

Joe Lycett roasts government at Commonwealth Games opening ceremony

Kieran Galpin

"soz @pritipatel just a bit of banter

‘soz @pritipatel just a bit of banter’

Joe Lycett made a not-so-subtle dig at the UK government during his speech at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham yesterday.

The 34-year-old comedian appeared in Birmingham last night to open the Commonwealth Games – but grabbing the opportunity by its horns, Lycett did not hold back during his address.

“I’m thrilled to be here next to all these pyrotechnics in this highly flammable outfit,” he said to the crowd, dressed in a frilly white and pink tracksuit. “I’m going to do something now that the British government doesn’t always do, and welcome some foreigners – this time from the region of Asia.”

But it didn’t stop there – the comedian took to Twitter later on in the evening to write “soz @pritipatel just a bit of banter tehehe” alongside sharing a clip of the moment in question.

The dig was received brilliantly online, with many applauding the Birmingham-born funnyman for making use of the opportunity.

On Twitter, one fan wrote: “BREAKING, Nadine Dories is now looking to sell @joelycett.”

Another suggested: “Right – sorted Hugh Grant PM, Martin Lewis Chancellor and Joe Lycett Home Secretary. Any ideas for other positions?…. I feel Sue Perkins and Deborah Meaden should be in … ? What could @mrjamesob be?”

A third added: “This was a splendid moment, from a splendid chap, in a splendid outfit.”

Last month, Lycett revealed that a member of his audience had phoned the police after finding one of his jokes too offensive.

In a post on social media, he wrote: “So someone came to my tour show a few weeks back and was offended by one of the jokes. And their perfectly understandable response to this was… to call the f*****g police.

“To be fair to them, the fuzz were very nice about it and all but felt that had a duty to investigate. This involved me writing a statement explaining the context of the joke for them.”

He joked that his tour “continues until September, unless I am jailed.”

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