Joe Lycett addresses his sexuality after becoming father for first time
Comedian Joe Lycett is a proud new dad which means he's had to get used to changing nappies, waking up at 2am to settle the baby, and, naturally, opening up to the public about his sexuality.
Perhaps not the norm for most new fathers, but Lycett has faced a lot of questions and confused faces since he announced that he welcomed a baby boy with his girlfriend.
Even before that, when the 31-year-old announced that he even had a girlfriend, some eyebrows were raised.
Known for his off-the-wall, elaborate pranks, there were some fans of his that suspected the announcement was just another stunt.
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But in 2024, Lycett announced that he was officially a father, putting all suspicions to bed.
Now, the TV show host has opened up about the confusion surrounding his sexuality, and made his personal preferences clear for those who must know.
Lycett told Fearne Cotton during a taping of her podcast Happy Place: "Lots of people were surprised when I had a child with a woman because they were like, 'but you're the gay man'."
He continued: "You know, I've never said that I'm gay because I've never been gay. But because I'm camp and I, you know, do innuendo and all those sorts of things that people have this idea of what that is.
"On stage, I kind of played on these things because they're funny ultimately. But how much of that has filtered into what I actually am? And is the stage persona the same as me? And, you know, these things sort of oscillate a lot."
Lycett has previously described himself as pansexual, which means being attracted to people of any and all genders.
Speaking to podcast The Pieces back in 2024, the comedian explained: "To me, that suggests that sexuality is not just man, woman. So the intellectual side of me goes it's pansexual, which means all. So, that's how I feel about myself."
Lycett first revealed he had a girlfriend during a taping of his Channel 4 chat show, but has decided to keep his partner's name out of the spotlight.
"A lot has changed since the last series," he told the Late Night Lycett audience back in April 2024.
"I've got some news which is that I have a girlfriend. I've talked about being bisexual for years but people presume I'm homosexual based on my entire personality... yes I've got a girlfriend and people have been very nice about it."
Anyway, the most important thing is that Lycett and his partner are having a lovely time with their son.
That being said, becoming a dad has made the comedian think a lot about his own career and identity.
"I was in a very lovely baby bubble that was great and just couldn't believe it," he told Fearne Cotton.
"Then six months I had a real like identity crisis and I sort of went through everything in my head.
"I think it's because you're awake at such weird times trying to get him asleep and all those things where you just sort of it's a lot of what appears like madness and could be madness."
He continued: "I just reflected on loads of things in my career and just was a bit embarrassed by it all and a bit like, you know, it's so naff to be a comedian. I didn't really have a long period of reflection on what I'd done."
The entertainer appears to have figured things out, with a new six-part series for Channel 4 on the way.
The Lycett Arms will follow Lycett opening a pub in east London with a live one hour show each Friday night, in an effort to 'celebrate British boozers'.
The series begins on Friday 4 September at 10pm on Channel 4.
Topics: LGBTQ, Joe Lycett, Celebrity
Ali Condon