Joe Lycett applies for licence to run his own pub for new live Channel 4 series
By Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter
Comedian Joe Lycett has applied for a licence to serve alcohol as he plans to run his own pub for a new Channel 4 series.
The 37-year-old will open his east London pub for just one hour a week for the duration of a live episode of six-part series The Lycett Arms.
Lycett said: “I’ve always wanted to run a pub that only exists for an hour a week, for the purposes of a TV concept, and I’m thrilled beyond words to embark on the extended process of applying for a licence to sell and serve alcohol.
“Filling in government-mandated paperwork has always been a passion of mine, and I only hope that at some point it involves the presentation of at least one form of photographic ID.
“Pretty much the only disappointment is that in addition to this enthralling form-filling process, I will also have to make a television series, as this is apparently the only way to make the whole tax dodge work.
“Nevertheless, I will meet my obligations to sit in front of a camera welcoming celebrities into the pub for great conversations and top comedy, it says here, and generally creating an unmissable event that will brighten your Friday evenings for six weeks.
“Those are all the words that I have been requested to say. Now I can return my attention to figuring out how to get round being locked out of Gov.uk.”
In order for the show to go ahead, Lycett will have to be fully accredited with a personal licence to serve alcohol, and is currently preparing to undergo the relevant training course and exam to be accredited with a Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders.
Each episode will see Lycett accompanied by a celebrity pub manager, and see The Lycett Arms paired with a real pub elsewhere in the UK.
Tom Beck, head of live events and commissioning editor of entertainment and reality at Channel 4, said: “Enticing Joe Lycett back onto Channel 4 screens has been a long and arduous process, involving months of delicate negotiations, emotional resilience and, in the end, the promise of legally binding admin.
“Thankfully, Joe’s appetite for bureaucracy remains undimmed, and we are delighted that he has agreed to spend Friday nights running a pub that is open for one hour a week, while also reluctantly making what we are legally obliged to describe as a brilliant new live entertainment series.”
The Lycett Arms will air at 10pm on Channel 4 on Fridays later this year, with an exact launch date yet to be announced.
