Joe Lycett has discussed his sexuality while thinking about becoming a father in a new interview.
The comedian, 38, welcomed a baby boy with his girlfriend in 2024.
At the time, fans thought the family announcement was one of Joe’s elaborate pranks, leading him to insist it wasn’t a stunt.
He told Fearne Cotton about her Happy Place podcast: ‘A lot of people were surprised when I had a child with a woman, because they said, “but you’re the gay man.”
“You know, I never said I was gay, because I was never gay. But because I’m camp and I, you know, do innuendos and all that stuff, people have an idea of what that is.
‘Onstage I played around with these things a little bit because at the end of the day they’re funny. But how much of that has filtered into what I really am? And is the stage personality the same as me? And you know, these things vary a lot.”
Joe Lycett has discussed his sexuality while thinking about becoming a father in a new interview
Joe took the first year of fatherhood off after managing to save enough from two months of hard work.
But six months later, the comic said he was having an identity crisis, questioning what he was doing with his career and admitting it made him feel “ashamed.”
He said: ‘I was in a really lovely baby bubble, which was amazing and I just couldn’t believe it.
‘Then I had a real identity crisis for six months and I was going through everything in my head.
“I think it’s because you’re up at such weird times trying to get him to sleep and all these things where you just seem a bit mad and could be madness.
“I just thought about a lot of things in my career and was a little bit ashamed of it and a little bit, you know, it’s so boring to be a comedian. I didn’t really think much about what I had done.
‘[With paternity leave]we have the time and space to process it all.”
The comedian added that given the pressure and vulnerability of stand-up, he doubts he would have the courage to start his career now.
The comedian, 38, welcomed a baby boy with his partner in 2024. At the time, fans thought the family announcement was one of Joe’s elaborate pranks.
He credits his younger self’s naivety for taking the leap.
Joe has fiercely guarded the identity of the baby’s mother, explaining that the nature of her job means “she is not allowed to be in the public eye.”
The TV presenter has previously described himself as ‘pansexual’, meaning he is attracted to someone regardless of their gender.
Joe surprised fans by announcing that he will have a woman in his life in 2024.
This came during his Channel 4 chat show – when he first refused to reveal her name.
Opening the show he said: ‘A lot has changed since the last series, I have some news, which is that I have a girlfriend.
“I’ve been talking about being bisexual for years, but people assume I’m gay based on my whole personality… yes, I have a girlfriend and people have been really nice about it.”
He has previously said that he calls her ‘Denise’ as a joke which he says is not her real name but a joke between them.
