Julian Clary, a comedian famous for his quick wit and innuendo-laden humor, found himself at the center of controversy in 1993 during the British Comedy Awards. While presenting an award, Clary made a joke that nearly cost him his career.
Introduced by Jonathan Ross on live television, Clary appeared on stage in a tuxedo, commenting on the lush set, which reminded him of Hampstead Heath. He then made a remark aimed at Norman Lamont, the then-Chancellor, saying, “As a matter of fact, I’ve just been fisting Norman Lamont – talk about a red box!”
The audience, which included Lamont and his wife, responded with shock, while laughter from the crowd drowned out the punchline for viewers at home. The Independent Television Commission later deemed the joke “wholly unacceptable,” and LWT issued an on-air apology. Clary was also dropped from a Christmas show on Radio Scotland, and tabloids called for a ban on his performances.
In an interview years later, Clary reflected, “It got blown out of all proportion. You’re on for 15 seconds, and you’re expected to be funny… I thought it was slightly near the knuckle, but I wouldn’t have bothered really.” Despite the backlash, Clary doesn’t regret the joke. In a 2019 interview with Metro, he stood by the line, calling it “a very good joke” and jokingly attributing its boldness to “divine intervention… to clear my diary.”
Clary also admitted in 2005 that medication played a role in his uninhibited stage presence. “I was on valium in the day and Rohypnol at night. It makes you very uninhibited,” he revealed during the Hay Literary Festival.
While online responses were divided, with some fans praising the joke and others defending its punchline, critics at the time were less forgiving. The Sun deemed it “too obscene to be mentioned in a family newspaper,” and The Star criticized it as “ham-fisted.”
Despite the controversy, Clary’s career continued. Though traditional TV roles became less frequent, he found success in cabaret, wrote novels, and made a comeback on television, finishing third on Strictly Come Dancing in 2005.
Today, Clary views the incident as part of his lasting legacy. “I wouldn’t really have imagined I’d be talking about it this many years after,” he said. “I know when I die, it’ll be the first paragraph of the obituary.”
He believes the joke reflected the political climate of the time and his own irreverent style. As he told The Guardian in 2019, “I always felt that if you’d outraged the Daily Mail, then it was job done, really…”
