Lee Evans Was Funny As Fuck And We Wish He'd Come Back

It's been almost two years since comedian Lee Evans announced his retirement on the Jonathan Ross Show.

'This is it," he said to a bemused audience. 'I ain't doing nothing. I'm going to go and see my wife, I'm going to give her a big hug and said, 'I am yours'.'

'I've come to a junction in my life where - please forgive me if it sounds very narcissistic - I've done musicals and plays and films and stand-up and you sort of get to a point where you go, 'I don't know what else to do next'."

Evans managed a total of 20 years on the comedy circuit with his infamous sweaty, frantic approach to observational humour, quickly going on to selling out arena after arena before headlining Wembley.

Though it wasn't his biggest gig (performing to 10,108 people at Manchester Arena took that one), it cemented his legend as Britain's most popular comedian.

Let's have a look at some proof:

Lee also enjoyed success in Hollywood in the 1990s, appearing in ejaculation-gel classic There's Something About Mary, The Fifth Element and MouseHunt, although it wasn't his personal glory days, later revealing it was 'terrible'.

"It was really lonely. I lived there for two years," he said.

"I learnt a lot - I would never trade that for anything - but on a personal level, I really missed my wife and daughter.

"If I ever went back. I'd have to go in and get straight out."

Disillusioned, he returned to Britain and to stand-up, embarking on his Wired and Wonderful tour. He dabbled in minor acting roles through the noughties, popping up in crime film Freeze Frame and West End productions of The Producers.

Lee Evans was a 'have you ever noticed...' comedian and made no bones about it. Furthermore, they were not truism yawns like a lot of young ones spin on us today a la 'have you ever noticed buses smell?' They were bizarre, outlandish and sometimes obscure, but always landed with millions of people across the country.

You could say Lee Evans played the safe game by never 'breaking rules' or convention like Stewart Lee and others, but that was never the plan. Evans buzzed off easy, organic laughs. He did exactly what he wanted to do in comedy and retired a happy camper.

There's a good chance Lee Evans might not ever pace the stage again, but if he does, he'll be welcomed back with sweaty, open arms.

Josh Teal

Josh Teal is a journalist at LADbible. He has contributed to the 'Knowing Me, Knowing EU' and 'UOKM8?' campaigns interviewing everyone from student drug dealers to climate change activists.

@tealioni