Laddish comic joins Headliners newspaper review show

Dapper Laughs is back on TV – as a commentator on GB News.

The laddish comedian was briefly famous in 2014, when his ITV2 dating show On The Pull was cancelled amid a storm of accusations of misogyny.

The final nail in the coffin came when footage emerged of him telling a female audience member she was ‘gagging for a rape’ at one of his live shows – although he maintained he was repeating a comment she made first.

Now the comic – real name Daniel O’Reilly – has been signed up for GB News’ Headliners newspaper review show.

He has previously been a guest on the show but has now told his 770,000 Instagram followers: he’s a ‘permanent addition to GB News’, taking part in the programme every weekend.

O’Reilly made his debut as a regular on Friday night, where he was asked to comment on stories such as the report that England’s male rugby team were encouraging women to apply for the coach’s job, and the growth of polyamory.

On the latter, he said: ‘Say for instance you’ve got two girlfriends, two wives, you’ve got twice the anniversaries, you’ve got to get twice the amount of presents, ain’t you? Between the three of you, you’ve got to decided what to watch and what to eat. It’s a nightmare in my house as it is!’

When one Twitter user accused Dapper of ‘jumping on the right-wing propaganda [machine] for a few quid’ by joining the station, he responded: ‘I’m taking the mick out of the news mate that’s all, GB News let you speak freely.’

O'Reilly wore a turtle-neck jumper on GB News, an apparent nod to his appearance on Newsnight at the height of the controversy, when he wore a similar garment when he appeared contrite over his comments, and said he would retire his Dapper Laughs persona. Just over a month later he was back posting YouTube videos as the alter-ego.

The comic – known for his 'proper moist' catchphrase, previously attempted a career comeback in 2018, when he entered Celebrity Big Brother. He was the eighth housemate to be evicted.

Headliners’ executive producer is comic and writer Andrew Doyle, the creator of spoof social justice warrior Titania McGrath who also hosts his own programme on the ‘anti-woke’ channel, called Free Speech Nation.

Comedians who regularly feature on Headliners, which airs at 11pm nightly, include Mark Dolan, Simon Evans, Dominic Frisby. Josh Howie, Leo Kearse and Diane Spencer.

Published: 9 Jan 2023