25 November 2023 , 18:34
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Funnyman Joe Lycett is set to take on water companies in a new Channel 4 documentary, 'Joe Lycett vs Poo'.
The show comes as the UK grapples with a sewage crisis and water companies face criticism over sewage spills. To kick off his latest project Joe staged a stunt at Liverpool's Albert Dock to launch his podcast, Turdcast that he described as a “ploppy, ploddy all about toilet habits. Celebrities talking s***, literally.” A giant inflatable toilet, cheekily named the 'Turdis', leaked fake sewage into the water.
However, it was later confirmed that the stunt had no environmental or biological impact on the area. The spillage was actually marine mud. "I spilled fake sewage because I wanted to get people talking about the billions of litres of real sewage that are released every year by our water companies," said Joe, 35.
Joe took his toilet stunt to Liverpool's Albert Dock (Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
The comedian will front a new Channel 4 programme next year (Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)He pointed out that last year, water companies paid shareholders £1.4 billion in dividends - money that could have been used to improve the sewer network and reduce spills. "We're asking the water companies to stop paying dividends and instead invest the money in solving this problem." The comedian is also encouraging people to write to their water company to sign up to Joe's Poo Promise.
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, who was Joe's first guest on his podcast, expressed his disappointment on social media. He posted: "As Joe's first guest on the podcast, this is all extremely disappointing. I agreed to it in good faith, but can't help but feel somewhat let down. S**t happens, I guess."
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Joe's new hour-long documentary aims to uncover "how our waterways have become so polluted and why water companies have been allowed to taint one of our most precious resources." Tom Beck, head of live events and commissioning editor for Channel 4, praised Joe saying: "Joe is our leading mischief maker; he uses humour, wit and absolute fearlessness to call out companies, celebrities and even our politicians."
"He's taken on the oil giants and David Beckham; now he's highlighting one of our biggest environmental issues by diving into the murky waters of the utility companies polluting our seas and rivers. It will be provocative, revealing, important and feature lots of poo jokes. Who else could promise all of that?" The show is set to air next year.
However Joe was faced with issues as the launch of his podcast went horribly wrong. Giving fans an update from Liverpool’s Albert Docks, Joe revealed things weren’t exactly going to plan. He said: “So as you can hear, it’s quite windy. It might not be fully inflated by the time we start at one – but do come down, just maybe go to the toilet somewhere else. I do still want to get your stories for the first episode of TURDCAST.”
But not long afterwards Joe revealed that due to a technical issue he’d had to cancel the inflatable loo event altogether. A statement posted on Instagram said: “Due to a technical issue with the Turdis we’ve had to cancel the event at Liverpool Albert Docks early. Was so lovely to meet the people who came! Really sorry to disappoint those who missed out.”
In another update Joe gave more details on what had caused his stunt to go wrong. He said: “Following the incident yesterday at Liverpool Albert Docks and an ongoing investigation into the sewage spilled into the waters, it has been concluded that it would be inappropriate to launch the podcast today, and we’ve therefore made the decision to cancel the podcast indefinitely. I’m very sorry to disappoint and hope that we can launch soon. I’d like to reiterate that it was entirely safe and managed by the team very swiftly. I’ll be releasing more information in due course.”
Had things gone to plan, Joe would have moved on from LiverPOOl to HartlePOOl on November 30, followed by RamsBOTTOM on December 14, but it looks like the Turdis won’t be making a re-appearance for now. Whether this proves to be another one of Joe’s stunts remains to be seen, but the TURDCAST podcast is yet to go live despite the launch date of November 24.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]