Joe Lycett responds to baby ‘stunt’ claims after shock announcement

Joe Lycett has issued an update on fatherhood, after a shock baby announcement last month.

The 36-year-old comedian is known for being so private about his personal life that he has given his girlfriend “Denise” an alias. He first shared the news with a photo posted to Instagram, showing him holding an infant, on 26 October, whom he said was born at Birmingham women’s hospital.

He then shared a follow-up post to clarify “misinformation” about his sexuality; Lycett has long identified as pansexual, meaning a person who is attracted to people of all genders.

With Lycett being known for his elaborate pranks, some had speculated that the parenthood announcement was in fact another ruse. It has, however, been widely reported that the birth of his son is not a joke, something the comedian confirmed in his latest update.

“I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been so lovely about my news (you may have seen on instagram or in the press that I have just welcomed a son)....,” he wrote in his newsletter on Friday (8 November).

“I’m finding fatherhood to be a total delight.”

Responding to public suspicions that the birth of his child may be a prank, he said: “And to confirm, he’s defo not a stunt (although I appreciate I’ve cried wolf enough that might not be convincing) and as promised I will be appearing on the Parenting Hell podcast in the near future.”

Addressing rumours about his sexuality, the comedian shared an informative gag in response to people expressing surprise at him having a child.

“I’ve seen a lot of misinformation being spread around over the last few days about pansexuality so I thought I’d explain it properly,” said Lycett in a post on his Instagram shortly after the birth.

“Pansexuality is actually closely linked with the pangolin (made famous as the intermediary host of SARS-CoV2) and is actually nothing to do with gender or any of that woke stuff but mating rituals which are primarily to do with smell and are strictly seasonal,” he joked.

In April, Lycett had revealed he was in a relationship with a woman he publicly calls Denise for privacy reasons.

”So I’ve got Winston the cat, and my partner Denise. And, um, she’s not called Denise, but I don’t talk about her, because she has a job that she can’t be in the public eye,” he told Drag Race star Bimini Bon-Boulash on The Pieces podcast.

“I call her Denise because she hates the name Denise, so I live with Denise.”