“Yeah, I did worry I was going to get shot”
At the 2017 Conservative Party Conference, comedian Simon Brodkin made headlines after he managed to hand Theresa May a P45 during her speech. Now, after May has announced her for-real resignation, Brodkin tells JOE exactly how he pulled the audacious stunt off.
Simon Brodkin first came to fame as a character comedian, starring as the eponymous lead character in BBC Three’s Lee Nelson’s Well Good Show. More recently though, he has become better known for his various stunts and pranks.
They started when, in character as Lee Nelson, Simon Brodkin ‘stole’ a copy of his own DVD from HMV on Oxford Street, and was chased down the street by an actor dressed as a policeman. Then in March 2013, he ran onto the pitch at Goodison Park as his footballer character Jason Bent, and attempted to warm up with the Manchester City side, and in 2014 mingled with the England national team at Luton airport, dressed in a smart suit.
Things escalated in 2015, when he invaded Kanye West’s headline Glastonbury performance. And then a year later, he bombarded the re-opening of Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland with Nazi golf balls.
And in 2017, Brodkin handed Theresa May her P45.
Now Brodkin is returning to stand-up, but ditching the characters and performing as himself. Simon is performing his new show ‘100% Simon Brodkin’ at the Edinburgh fringe at the Pleasance Baby Grand from 31st July to 24th August, tickets can be found at edfringe.com.
