Broadcaster and comedian Iain Lee has said he “held a lot of bitterness and resentment” towards Ricky Gervais and Sacha Baron Cohen because he thought they’d “stolen” his career.
The 52-year-old, who rose to fame fronting Channel 4’s satirical series The 11 O’Clock Show in 1998 said he was “fortunate and unfortunate” to have had The Office star, 64, and Ali G creator, 53, as his co-stars.
“I compared myself to Sacha and Ricky. Which is a fool’s errand,” Lee admitted. “I’d think, ‘They’ve stolen my career. Well, of course they hadn’t. It was lightning in the bottle twice. They were phenomenons.”
Lee told The Guardian he didn’t get over Gervais and Baron Cohen’s success until he reached his 40s.
He reflected: “If anyone was f***ing up my career, it was me. I was taking loads and loads of drugs and becoming incredibly unreliable and obnoxious to work with… an asshole.”
The presenter, who left The 11 O’Clock Show in 2000, said he took cocaine while working because he secretly felt like he didn’t know what he was doing.
“It gave me this false bravado. It looked like arrogance but it came from absolute terror,” he said.
Lee began a full-time radio career in 2005, hosting talk shows on stations including LBC, Absolute, BBC Three Counties Radio, BBC Radio WM and talkRADIO.
In December 2018, the presenter kept a suicidal caller live on the phone for half an hour until an ambulance arrived to help him. A year later, he came out as bisexual live on air.
Lee said he had a “kind of breakdown on air” in 2019, during which he declared his talkRadio show pointless. His contract with the channel wasn’t renewed in 2020 and he now fronts a podcast on Patreon.
Meanwhile, Gervais became one of the best-known British comedians, finding international fame with sitcoms The Office, Extras and After Life. He’s won seven BAFTA Awards, two Emmys and four Golden Globes for the programmes.
Similarly, Baron Cohen garnered numerous accolades throughout his successful career, including two BAFTAs for Da Ali G Show in 2001 and a Golden Globe for Borat and its sequel in 2007 and 2021.
Gervais, who became known for his outspoken remarks, later said The 11 O’Clock Show, helped him grow a thick skin for criticism of his comedy, which in recent years has included accusations that his material is “transphobic” and ‘ignorant”.
“I started with a backlash, on The 11 O'clock Show,” he said. “And you must remember, in this kind of industry, for everyone who loves you, two don't.”
