S6 EP8: Jimmy Carr discusses the secret to his comedy, being a late bloomer, and controversial stand-up gigs

The Louis Theroux Podcast

Spotify Studios

Comedy, Arts, Society & Culture

4.1 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For this Christmas bonus episode, Louis sits down with writer, comedian, and panel-show super-host, Jimmy Carr. Jimmy discusses what lies behind his unique brand of ‘edgy' comedy, why he remained a virgin until the age of 26 and performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival despite public criticism. Jimmy’s film, ‘Fackham Hall’, is out in cinemas now. Warnings: Strong language and adult themes. Links/Attachments: Book: Before & Laughter, Jimmy Carr (2021) https://www.jimmycarr.com/product/book-laughter/ Fackham Hall (2025) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29008225/ Jimmy Carr Tour https://www.jimmycarr.com/tour/uk-ireland/ Alex Hormozi quote: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIzTPjPTZB0/ Book: Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/203913/homo-ludens-by-johan-huizinga/ Peter McGraw’s Benign Violations https://petermcgraw.org/a-brief-introduction-to-the-benign-violation-theory-of-humor/ Book: Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault (1975) https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/13651/discipline-and-punish-by-michel-foucault-trans-alan-sheridan/9780241386019 Bob Monkhouse joke about cancer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTUvRW7gtGU Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material (2021) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16259786/ Nadine Dorries’ comment about Jimmy Carr joke: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/nadine-dorries-jimmy-carr-netflix-jewish-roma-b2008317.html Jimmy Carr’s joke about injured soldiers: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6486964/Jimmy-Carr-feels-terrible-about-injured-soldiers-joke.html#:~:text=Jimmy%20Carr%20'feels%20terrible'%20about%20injured%20soldiers%20joke Saint Lawrence, the patron Saint of comedy: https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2015/08/10/st-lawrence-patron-saint-of-comedians TV Show: ‘Game of Thrones’ (2011-2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944947/ Dave Chappelle quote: https://btr.michaelkwan.com/2017/03/26/sunday-snippet-dave-chappelle/#:~:text=Posted%20by%20Michael%20Kwan%20%7C%20Mar,Maybe%20it%20was%20something%20else. TV Show: ‘The Black and White Minstrel Show’ (1958-1978) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0198065/ TV Show: ‘The Young Ones’ (1982-1984) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083505/ Titania McGrath quote: https://x.com/TitaniaMcGrath/status/1453065592651517964 Musical: We Will Rock You, Ben Elton (2002) https://wewillrockyoulondon.co.uk/ John Betjeman’s Slough poem: https://allpoetry.com/poem/8493391-Slough-by-Sir-John-Betjeman TV Show: ‘The Office’ (2001-2003) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290978/ Naval Ravikant https://nav.al/rich TV Show: 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (2012 – 2025) https://www.channel4.com/programmes/8-out-of-10-cats-does-countdown The Fog of War (2004) https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/the-fog-of-war/umc.cmc.3j815y9s5id2nvfztrlfh75il?action=play Eric Weinstein’s Intellectual Dark Web https://www.whatisemerging.com/videos/inside-the-intellectual-dark-web-eric-weinstein Hillary Clinton’s ‘deplorable’ speech: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-37330420 Jordan Peterson on compelled speech https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37875695 Credits: Producer: Millie Chu  Assistant Producer: Emilia Gill Production Manager: Francesca Bassett  Music: Miguel D’Oliveira  Audio Mixer: Tom Guest Video Mixer: Scott Edwards Shownotes compiled by Elly Young Executive Producer: Arron Fellows     A Mindhouse Production for Spotify  www.mindhouse.co.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello there and welcome back to the Louis Theru podcast or if you're watching it on Spotify, the Louis Theru Slightly Shit TV show.
0:15.0	I just came up with that. Do you like that? That's quite funny.
0:30.4	Well, the last series may be over, but guess what?
0:31.0	I'm back.
0:35.8	Surprise with some festive cheer and a bonus Christmas episode.
0:39.1	I'm joined by none other than writer, comedian and panel show host with the most, Jimmy Carr. Jimmy has been a mainstay of the UK comedy scene for
0:45.3	nearly 20 years. He is one of the busiest jobbing comedians in the world. His last tour sold over
0:51.8	1.2 million tickets globally. That's a big number.
0:56.8	Making it the biggest ever international stand-up tour.
1:01.2	I mean, he's British, but he has a following in America, definitely Australia.
1:06.1	So, yeah, those numbers might even be true.
1:10.0	He's probably best known for his rapid fire, often darkly
1:13.2	humorous one-liners. He spits them out like a comedic spitfire. He does amazing crowdwork as well,
1:20.3	and in fact, at the moment, there are many compilations of his audience interactions online that
1:25.2	you can find in your favourite social media feed.
1:28.8	He's got his wits about him. He's got that thing where someone in the crowd can give him some
1:32.9	attitude and he gives it right back to them. I have a lot of respect for people who can
1:37.0	zing on the fly ad hoc improvisationally. You may also be familiar with him as the host of many, many panel shows here
1:46.3	in the UK. Shows like 8 out of 10 cats. I think that one's not on the air anymore. The Big Fat
1:51.9	Quiz of the Year and most recently Amazon Smash hit Last One Laughing. That's been smashing it
1:58.9	in the ratings where he's assembled with he's the host but
2:03.0	there are a rogues gallery of beloved British comedians and they all try not to laugh right and then
	...

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