How James Acaster tried to subvert Send To All
James Acaster admits he’s been taken in by the pranks on Michael McIntyre’s Send To All feature – but has now wised up to the ruse and turned the tables on his fellow comic.
In one of the most popular segments on his BBC One Big Show, McIntyre takes a celebrity’s phone and sends a bizarre message to everyone in their contact books to see what replies come back.
Speaking to Richard Herring on his Leicester Square Theatre podcast, Acaster said: ‘Sometimes comedians go on that… and then you get the text. I used to fall for them. I don't fall for them any more.
‘I got a thing from Tom Allen firing his cleaner, but accidentally sent it to me, and me trying to make him feel better. Then I realised it was Send To All.
‘I haven't got them for a while because Katherine Ryan went on it and did a text that was like, "Hey, hope you don't mind but when I first met you years ago, you were so weird that I've started telling the story about how weird you were on stage. I filmed it, and it's gonna be in my new special. Let me know if you want some" - and then a dollar bag emoji.
‘And I texted some people and were like, have you got this? They were like, "yeah, yeah"… So I replied to it: "My wife has died."’
Acaster said that was the last of the message for a while, but had received a text from Judi Love just before the recording of Herring’s podcast.
‘That is definitely a prank,’ he explained. ‘She messages me saying. "Hey, babes, don't tell anyone, but I'm on my way to get a Brazilian butt lift. You got such a peachy butt. I want to base it on yours. Can you can you send me a photo of that peachy butt please?"
‘So I replied saying, "Yeah, hold on one second". And then [I replied] "It took a while, but I think it's come out good." Then just a photo of Michael McIntyre’s face.
‘I’m quite excited about returning to my phone…’
Acaster also spoke about how Celebrity Hunted isn’t fake – but is heavily edited, and is subject to certain rules, such as that contestants must move every so often and must use a phone and bank card at some point.
The conversation also covered his role in Ghostbusters, and how he fell out of love with stand-up before embracing it again, via his soon-to-be-released special Hecklers Welcome.
• Listen to Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast here, or in all the usual places.
Published: 28 Nov 2024