H from Steps: Joe Lycett reveals statue hoax

It's a tragedy for his fans - H from Steps will not be getting an 8ft statue in his hometown of Cowbridge.

Comedian Joe Lycett revealed it was one of the multiple fake stories he seeded to the media over the last month on the return of his Channel 4 Show on Friday night.

And H himself made a guest appearance on Late Night Lycett to tell everyone it was "fake news!".

He later told a BBC reporter "well done" for not falling for it.

On the show, Lycett showed a report of the hoax, joking: "I know what you're thinking, that'll only be torn down in a few years when people remember his historic links to the slave trade."

He said the story had been "covered everywhere... they even discussed it on BBC Breakfast."

Speaking to BBC Wales straight after the show, H said: "I'm great friends with Joe and he had this idea that he wanted to create fun fake news to deflect away from all of the bad fake news - and it worked!

"And a lot of these stories have gone unnoticed - this one did for a long time."

He admitted it had been tough keeping the ruse a secret from family and friends - with his mum being sworn to secrecy.

"Believe me, I have been dodging texts and well wishes, and amazing messages from all of my pop pals," he said.

"It's ridiculous because what we have proposed is like an 8ft bronze statue of me. And I love that people thought it was justified and it was a lovely idea.

"But it was meant to be ridiculous, and people thought it was real and I love that.

"I didn't think it would be as big as it did. I was away for a week on a little spa break, and I was trying to relax on a sun lounger and my phone blew up and it was pinging all over the place. People like Debbie Gibson and Sophie Ellis Bextor, and all these people saying 'well done'."

When Lycett posted about the fake stories he had seeded, he sent journalists in newspapers, TV and online frantically checking their stories to see if they'd been had.

Some of the suspected hoaxes, like the rescued hedgehog that turned out to be a hat bobble and the North Korean row over Alan Titchmarsh's trousers were actually real.

But Lycett said stories published about a bruise that looked like Prince Harry and a Banksy mural of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz were all planted by his team.

H said the hoax had deflected from a lot of negative news in the media, and "shone a spotlight on people who "sit behind keyboards and they whinge and they whine and they don't contribute".

"I love that Joe has put this on a national platform, when there is so much hatred and we can shine a little light on some joy and something funny," he said.

"It was the most ridiculous but people bought it, I had to text my mother and go mum just to let you know this is gonna happen, and she said 'I will say nothing'."

On the BBC reporting the story seemed like a potential hoax, he said: "Well done for doing a little bit of leg work but you didn't get to the bottom of it. Cultural Cowbridge was the red flag, right?"