Live, love, laugh

Comedian Lee Peart has warmed up studio audiences for some of the biggest shows on TV – now he’s planning to tour with his own show. Interview by Kate Chapman.

Making people laugh isn’t just a talent – it’s a rare gift and for Lee Peart it’s second nature.

Charming and quick-witted, he’s built a career on turning everyday moments into something hilarious, leaving his audiences in stitches and always wanting more.

As well as being the resident warm-up act for ITV’s Loose Women since 2017, Lee, who grew up in Cleethorpes, has got audiences buzzing ahead of some of the nation’s other biggest shows, including Strictly Come Dancing, Britain’s Got Talent and The Jonathan Ross Show.

He’s gigged at major comedy clubs, performed at Leeds and Reading Festival, supported comedians Jason Manford and Judi Love on their UK tours, and written for television shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats and series two of Amazon’s hit LOL: Last One Laughing.

“I’d always loved performing, even as a teenager, but back then I didn’t really know what stand-up was and didn’t know it was something that I could do myself, or what opportunities there were,” says Lee, whose first attempt at stand up was an open mic night during his student days.

“I sort of fell into it, but once I’d done my first show and it went well, I got the bug for it. Warm-up is a funny gig – the audience isn’t there for you, but you’ve got to make them warm enough to enjoy the show, get them shouting and cheering.

“I’ve been doing it so long. The ‘Loose Women’ are like my friends, as are the crew and production team.”

Early experiences
Lee admits that even as a child he was always a bit of a show-off, but it was landing the main part in a school play which really gave him a passion for performing in front of an audience.

“My earliest memory is when I got the role of David Copperfield in a primary school play – it was a big thing that I got that part. There was another boy, who was a really good reader, and when you’re a good reader, you often get the main part. He was highly intelligent too. He always got the roles, so it was a big thing for me – and I loved it!”

Spurred on by his love for the stage, Lee joined youth theatre company Class Act in Grimsby, and then secured a place at the University of Salford to study performing arts.

It was there, during the fresher’s fair that he threw himself into student life and signed up for every club he could – including a stand-up society.

“It didn’t take off in the end. I went to the first week and wrote a lot of five-minute material, which I was ready to perform but the society disbanded. Because I had all this material written, I went and did an open mic night at a pub in Manchester. It went really well. If it hadn’t been a success, I probably wouldn’t have done it again!”

Opportunity knocks
Lee’s next gig was at another small venue in Manchester where he performed to an audience of around a dozen, before being invited to take to the stage at Manchester Comedy Store. That was ten years ago and since then he’s been performing all over the country.

“I always remember one particular night in Manchester when Peter Kay was in the audience, he shouted something out – I was heckled by Peter Kay! I said something funny back, and he replied, ‘he’s good!

“Someone who worked at Loose Women was there and invited me to do the audience warm up for the show. I had no idea what an audience warm up was. I’d never been to a TV studio before, so had no idea what it was all about.

“I did it, but it went terribly. I went in thinking it was a comedy club, but it was 11.30am in the morning, and I was doing my material as I would normally. It wasn’t very good. I was only 23; I had no idea and only did four days.

“Thankfully a few years later, in 2017, they asked me to come back. I’d grown up by this point and found my comedy voice.

“I did it, and they really liked me, I shared the role for a while and since 2019, it’s been just me. It’s my day job – it’s only a couple of hours; I’m finished by 1.30pm and that’s my day done. Then I do other gigs in the evening.”

Comedy inspiration
Growing up, Lee’s comedy heroes were Victoria Wood, who he loved for all the little details she wove into her work, as well as Ricky Gervais, Alan Carr and Graham Norton.

He’s recently finished a five-month residency at Crazy Coqs, in London, and enjoyed a great summer which included playing the comedy tent at Latitude Festival, in Suffolk, but there’s no time to rest on his laurels.

He has a new podcast in the pipeline and he’s also hoping to take his own show on tour this year, with the possibility of a gig in Cleethorpes or Grimsby.

“I’m not a political comedian, I just use the notes app on my phone to write things on – things like what I’m thinking, anecdotes, things that have happened to me, or even things I’ve heard people saying. I take my inspiration from everywhere and it all goes into the notes on my phone,” he smiles.

“Things have changed though. You never had comedians putting videos online of what they were doing; you didn’t share your material that way. Now comedians are setting up cameras at gigs, recording for channels like TikTok.

“Social media has changed the way we consume comedy, the way we find it. We used to be on TV, now we’re on smaller screens that are in everyone’s hands. That’s how a lot of people find me – I sell more tickets off the back of social media, than other places.

“This industry can be quite tough, so I feel very lucky to have stayed in a career that I’ve always wanted to do and making other people laugh.”

For more information about Lee visit www.leepeart.net

We Recommend

Winter takes flight

Creating fabulous fragrances

The art of restoration

A taste of tradition

Fire

New growth for market town

View all