Comedy legend Barry Humphries pulled off a prank so perfectly, viewers were left wondering if he really had made an enormous gaffe on live TV.
Australian comedy legend Barry Humphries provided a live TV moment so cringe-worthy over the weekend, viewers were fiercely debating whether it was real or staged.
Humphries, 87, was appearing on the UK chat show This Morning with fill-in hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond.
The show is usually hosted by Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, who made headlines last year when he came out as gay at the age of 57.
Poker face on, Humphries offered some words of congratulations to O’Leary that made it immediately clear he was mistaking him for regular This Morning host Schofield.
“Incidentally, I want to congratulate you, by the way – seriously, on your courage,” he began, as O’Leary – who has been married to a woman since 2012 – looked on nervously.
Hammond instantly twigged what was happening and let out an almighty laugh.
“Last year, when he came out and told us about his sexuality – I think a lot of people respected you for that,” Humphries continued.
“Thank you. I’ll pass that on to the gentleman that’s here from Monday to Thursday,” a flustered O’Leary responded.
“What?” asked Humphries, looking off-camera confusedly.
“Your bravery was amazing,” he continued, as Hammond kept wheezing with laughter.
The incident sparked much debate among UK viewers about whether it was a genuine, toe-curling gaffe or a perfectly delivered joke from Humphries – but anyone familiar with the humour of the man responsible for deadpan comic creations like Dame Edna Everage and Les Patterson would recognise he was very much in on the joke.
As one Humphries fan pointed out, he’s made a similar joke on UK TV before, this time dressed as Dame Edna – here’s Edna mistaking The One Show presenter Alex Jones for the program’s previous host, Christine Lampard:
As one person on Twitter wrote: “Humphries knew EXACTLY what he was doing. Years ago, he did an interview at our local radio station. Spent an hour beforehand wandering around the place, talking to as many on-air staff as he could find. Then sent them all up, by name, during his piece. Meticulous, professional.”
“Nothing accidental about this,” wrote another person on Twitter.
“Barry Humphries is a comedy legend; he knows what he’s doing.”
Originally published as Barry Humphries’ hilarious live TV prank
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