Ahead of his new new tour, Conspiracies, based on his new book, The Conspiracy Tourist, Dom Joly, star of Trigger Happy TV, (remember the gigantic mobile phone?), shares some of the whacky things he discovered on his travels. Plus, you could win tickets to see the show at a local venue on our Instagram.

What can we expect from the new tour?

It’s a companion to my latest travel book,The Conspiracy Tourist, in which I travelled the globe again looking into the strange world of the Conspiracy Theorist. I will take the audience through some of the wackiest conspiracy theories out there and what I think of them. I am pretty much a sceptic and so, for balance, I will be joined by an eminent conspiracy theorist, Dr Julian Northcote (author of the book COWS! Britain’s Secret Killers). Expect fireworks.

Why the interest in Conspiracy Theories?

Conspiracies used to be fun. Did we land on the moon? Bigfoot, Was Paul McCartney cloned? Nowadays they have gone batsh*t insane. They have infected the body politic, with the actual President of the United States supporting Q Anon and urging people to inject themselves with bleach. It’s dangerous and being used by a series of grifters to terrify gullible people and fleece them for money. It makes me angry… but it is also often very funny.

What kind of theories did you look at for the show?

I took my long-suffering wife to Finland for a holiday in order to prove that it exists (there is a theory that it doesn’t). I also went on a massive road trip across America popping into Denver International Airport, rumoured to be the assembly point for the Illuminati come the Rapture. I investigated UFOs with a visit to Roswell, New Mexico. I looked into the JFK assassination in Dallas, Texas. I chased Alex Jones, the Info Wars grifter, around Austin, Texas. I also took a flat earther to one of the four corners of the square flat earth – an island called Fogo, off Newfoundland. It didn’t go well…

Trigger Happy TV was hugely successful, how did it come about?

I did my life the wrong way round. Most people do silly stuff when they are young and then knuckle down. I did the opposite. I was a diplomat in Prague and a producer for ITN in Parliament. Then, I started making satirical comedy but fell into just trying to be as funny as possible when Channel 4 spotted my stuff and asked me to make Trigger Happy TV. I am immensely proud of it. I put blood sweat and tears into every episode and we sold the show to 80 countries and it opened so many doors for me. My favourite Trigger Happy sketch was probably the large snail crossing the road because only in Britain would the traffic stop and wait so patiently as I crawled across excruciatingly slowly.

What makes you laugh?

If I had to sum it up, it would be ‘travel vast distances and make an enormous effort to do something totally pointless.’ My favourite sketch of all time was actually in a sequel to Trigger Happy TV called World Shut Your Mouth in which we flew all the way to Northern Canada to ‘frighten an Eskimo’ by sneaking up behind him and crashing a large pair of cymbals together before running away and flying back home in triumph.

What makes you angry?

How much time do you have? Jacob Rees Mogg, trains, bigotry, bullies, injustice, poor grammar, Boris Johnson, tax dodgers, people failing upwards, grifters, Covid deniers, bureaucracy, traffic wardens, people who stand up the moment the plane lands, people who say eXpresso, automated customer services, Elon Musk, religious zealots, scammers, Q&As, Swindon…

Career highlight so far?

Learning to fly a hot air balloon; getting the BBC to pay for me to visit all Seven Wonders of the World in one trip just to stand in front of each one and say ‘That…is sh*t…’; making a show called Dom Joly’s Happy Hour for SKY One in which I travelled the world getting drunk with my best friend – The SKY lawyers got nervous and asked me not to say that I was ‘getting drunk’ and would I mind saying that I was ‘investigating cultural attitudes towards alcohol’, instead. Surviving for three weeks on ‘The Island with Bear Grylls.’ I lost three stone and nearly my leg.

What’s next for Dom Joly?

Who knows? I am developing a Trigger Happy Movie. I am working on a TV series of The Conspiracy Tourist for the US. I’ve only just really discovered radio and it’s something that I really want to explore further. I also have a list of places I have yet to go to. Algeria is currently top of my list. I am obsessed with the place. My son and I want to go storm chasing in America. I want to walk the Cotswold Way with my dogs.

Dom Joly, The Conspiracy Tour will be at theatres around the UK from 20 September 2024, Book here.

Enter our Instagram competition to WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS to a Hertfordshire show at a venue of your choice including including BEAM Hertford, The Alban Arena and South Mill Arts. Click here.

Tin foil hats on? Dom Joly talks conspiracy theories (+ win tickets to his new show!)

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