Joe Lycett on the love of his hometown

In his new series United States of Birmingham, Joe Lycett, self-appointed ambassador to Britain’s second city, travels  to North America, to visit 18 other  Birminghams to find gem common links. Here he talks about his pride for his hometown and some of the highlights of his trip…

Alright Bab? So, why the love for Birmingham? 

Well obviously, LOADS of it is to do with hometown pride, but there are also a bunch of other cities in the UK I love. Manchester is one of the best cities in the world, London is great, I also think Hull is massively underrated. Bristol is cool. Milton Keynes is fine.

But Birmingham is unique in that it IS the best city in the world and yet no one knows about it. Partly, or mainly in fact, because Brummies never shout about it. So, I am breaking with tradition and talking about Birmingham. 

As a result, I will eventually be captured and tortured by Jasper Carrott, as is custom.

How did it feel to do a 2,000-mile road trip?

Daunting. Exciting. Arousing. Infuriating. Emasculating. Career-defining. Brilliant. It was truly one of those trips that kind of encompassed everything. One thing it wasn't: boring. Actually, I take that back some of it was really boring but you won't see that in the show thanks to our highly trained editorial team.

You're not alone on your travels. Can you tell us a bit about your bus driver, Randy?

Randy was literally a dude sent by the company which we hired the bus from, and he turned out to be one of the funniest people I've ever met. And I've met Jimmy Carr. 

He was completely baffled by the whole thing, (correctly), until we promised he would be famous within 15 miles of the M42 and then he really made an effort. He is really lovely and regularly texts me since we finished filming. (I do not reply).

I think you're searching for a common identity that exists across all Birminghams. What were your findings?

There's definitely a sense of being seen as ugly, low rent, ignored, and embarrassing. But enough about Jimmy Carr, Birminghams are almost universally seen as the underdog wherever they are. Yet they all have an extraordinary amount to offer (I am not referring to drugs but if you are asking they all have access to drugs).

Birmingham Alabama had some astonishing calorie-dense food that will likely result in my untimely death. Birmingham Michigan has some properly swanky restaurants – imagine somewhere a bit like St John's Wood but called Birmingham. I had a sausage in a Bloody Mary in Birmingham Toledo. 

I ate well. Just look at a graph of my BMI (or every third message I get on Elon Musk's Twitter) and you'll see I have put on weight. Thanks to the wonders of Wegovy I will soon return to a showbiz-friendly size.

What was your highlight of the trip?

The friends I made along the way.

And what's the best thing to have ever come out of Birmingham?

Alison Hammond. Not even joking. She's a truly incredible person. Talented. Lovely. Interested. I signed a contract with her once. Quite threatening. Some stuff in there about having to be nice about her in press interviews.

And finally, why should everyone come visit Birmingham?

In the words of Telly: 'you can almost smell the energy!'

By 'energy' I mean 'rotting household waste due to continued bin strikes’.

• Joe Lycett’s United States of Birmingham launches on April 22 on Sky Max and streaming service Now.

Published: 15 Apr 2025