‘I can finally say what I want!’ Arch prankster Simon Brodkin heads to Milton Keynes
He made headlines around the world with his stunts – but now Brodkin is taking to the stage as himself
The critically acclaimed comedian Simon Brodkin is bringing his biggest stand-up tour to date to Milton Keynes.
He’s the comedian who showered FIFA president Sepp Blatter with cash, handed Prime Minister Theresa May her P45, and created the smash-hit BBC comedy series Lee Nelson’s Well Good Show.
But he has since taken to performing comedy in his own name.
As his tour continues, Brodkin spoke about what audiences can expect from the new show – called Unleashed – an enjoyable incarceration in Switzerland, and regrets about handing Theresa May a P45.
Unleashed is your biggest ever stand-up tour to date. How have you been enjoying the shows so far?
It’s been absolutely fantastic to get back out there having not done a tour for over a year. What’s great about the UK is that we love joking about how rubbish things are – there is nothing in Britain that can’t be improved with a gag. And I’d forgotten just how much being on stage in front of thousands of people each night is my happy place. It’s the only two hours of the day when my kids don't phone me up! Phone off, peace at last. People say 'oh my God, isn't it stressful?' I'm like 'no!', it's the calmest two hours of the day, some ‘me time’. It's my warm bath.
What can audiences expect material-wise from Unleashed?
Having done the characters and stunts in the past, this is only my second big tour doing stand-up as myself – so it’s called ‘Unleashed’ because I feel like now I can finally say what I want. It’s a show full of the things that I've been finding laughable over the last year – from vape shops to Turkish barbers, wild swimmers, marriage and Genghis Khan!
And quite a lot about my own family. My children are asking if they can come and see the show, but I'm trying to put them off – I'm not sure it paints them in the best possible light. So if you do come along to a show and it feels like a particularly short one, that's because I've had to cut out 20 minutes of material about my kids who have come along that evening. Sorry everybody.
Why did you decided that you wanted to step out from behind the characters and do stand-up in your own name?
The stand-up that I did before was always in character, predominantly as south London lad Lee Nelson. Performing as Lee was amazing – three series on BBC Three, big touring shows. But I was doing and saying things on stage, perhaps a bit of crowd work, and Lee would come out with a great answer that the audience would love – but I'd be thinking, ‘hang on, is that Lee? Lee couldn't have thought of that, I think that might be me popping through there!’ So my own stand-up has grown from there. It was probably my ego thinking ‘I can’t let my characters take credit for the stuff I'm doing! Damn it, I'm gonna give this a go!’
What are the key differences for you performing as Simon and performing in character?
Ultimately, whatever I'm doing – Lee, Jason Bent, the stunts, my own stand-up – the main aim is to bring a dirty big laugh to people's faces. I don’t want to give an amusing TED Talk, I want people rolling in the aisles. But the difference now is huge because I’m really being me. Slagging off my family, what I think about Elon Musk, it’s all for real. And this is my biggest ever tour so it seems to be making a connection, people are loving it.
How do you approach crowd work as part of your shows?
I have always loved doing crowd work. I think the reason stand-up is still so popular is because it's in the moment. The audience knows that this is just for them, on that one night. It is another lesson I’ve learnt when performing as myself though. When I first started, I’d often go back to muscle memory and say a Lee line that had always gone down brilliantly, but would be utterly harsh. So I’ve had to remember that this is now a genuine connection I’m getting with people when performing as myself, and so maybe not to insult them quite as much!
You have performed the show internationally across 2026 - are you finding that the subject matter is universal?
I’ve found that if people get the reference, wherever they are in the world then my jokes hit just as well. But yeah, occasionally the reference doesn’t land abroad - you realise just how low Britain’s standing has got when you make a joke about your Prime Minister and they haven't heard of them.
Is there an exciting lightbulb moment when you have an idea for a stunt?
Yeah, there's always two light bulb moments. The first is the initial idea - wouldn’t it be funny if I joined Kanye West on stage at Glastonbury? That first light bulb is like when you write a good gag. But then there’s the hard yards to working out the second lightbulb moment – when and where you can actually do it and, luckily for me, being one of the few people who’s happy to be arrested for doing it!
Simon Brodkin comes to Milton Keynes Theatre on Saturday November 21. Visit atgtickets.com/MiltonKeynes to book.