After all the hype and promotion this week, comedian Joe Lycett’s new podcast Turdcast – which is literally about “celebrities talking s***” – has supposedly kicked up a stink (sorry) to the extent that the audio series has been cancelled “indefinitely”, though fans aren’t convinced.
The ”actually very right-wing” funnyman, whose past stunts have included ‘shredding’ cash in protest at David Beckham’s partnership with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (he didn’t really) and creating a fake version of the Sue Gray report into Partygate which actually fooled government ministers, was in Liverpool on Thursday to promote his latest project.
In a publicity stunt for Turdcast, Lycett and his team turned up at the Royal Albert Docks to erect what he dubbed ‘The Turdis’ – a giant inflatable toilet – and interview the public about their toilet habits for inclusion in the first episode of the podcast on Friday, but soon encountered some problems.
Windy conditions meant they were unable to inflate the Turdis, and Lycett later took to his Instagram Stories to say that the event had to be cancelled early “due to a technical issue” with the inflatable object.
But it seems that wasn’t the only part of the story, as an official statement from a spokesperson later on Thursday read: “During an event at Liverpool Docks today, a mechanical fault occurred with a portable toilet which saw a small spillage occur.
“This was immediately dealt with by the support team on hand to ensure there was no impact on the water into which the spillage occurred.
“However, the event was cancelled with immediate effect as it was not possible for members of the public to use the toilet as planned. We apologise to disappointed fans hoping to attend.”
Lycett himself added: “In a bitter twist of irony, severe wind caused us problems in fully erecting The Turdis. I’m relieved to say the spillage was dealt with immediately so that the beautiful waters at the Docks weren’t damaged.
“Huge thanks to the lovely people of Liverpool who made it down!”
Oh, but that wasn’t the end of it, as Lycett put out a statement on Friday morning in which he announced the dramatic decision to “cancel the podcast indefinitely”, as it would be “inappropriate” for it to launch off the back of the “ongoing investigation into the sewage spilled into the waters”.
“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,” he said.
The Turdis was scheduled to tour to other locations such as Hartlepool (next Thursday) and Ramsbottom (on 14 December), but it is not clear if these events will still be going ahead.
For now, at least, social media users have their suspicions about whether the situation is part of a much wider stunt from Lycett:
Over on Instagram, one comment reads: “I love how we can’t tell whether this is real or not. The Lycett Lore is strong.”
“If the whole thing is not to show the government how to deal with potential sewerage pollution… Joe’s up to something, isn’t he,” suggested another.
It’s also been speculated that it could be a rouse for his consumer affairs programme Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back.
Of course, the backdrop to all this is that Environment Agency figures released earlier this year found that there were an average of 824 sewage spills a day, with industry body Water UK issuing an apology over the scandal in May.
And since 2020, Thames Water has been pumping 72 billion litres of sewage into the River Thames, according to figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats.
Meanwhile in the political sphere, Tory MP Damian Green was ridiculed for claiming it used to be “acceptable” to swim in sewage – yes, really.
indy100 has approached Liverpool City Council for comment and confirmation as to whether there actually was a spillage at the Royal Albert Docks on Thursday.
We won’t be fooled, Joe!
The first episode of Joe Lycett’s podcast was due to feature Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who shared more details about his unfortunate poop incident on the pitch during the 1990 World Cup.
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