'Britain's Greatest Hoaxer' who gave prime minister a P45 and threw cash over FIFA president heading to Sheffield

Comedian Simon Brodkin, who once had a BBC series in the guise of his ‘happy-go-lucky chav’ character Lee Nelson, is appearing at The Leadmill on April 12, 2020 as part of his debut stand-up tour, titled 100% Simon Brodkin.

The show, which ran at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, is billed as a chance to see Brodkin open up and ‘unleash his funniest creation yet – himself’.

Brodkin hit the headlines in 2015 when he gained access to a press conference at football governing body FIFA’s headquarters in Switzerland and threw a pile of US dollars over the organisation’s then president Sepp Blatter, joking that it formed part of an attempt to stage the 2026 World Cup in North Korea. He was later charged with trespassing, while Blatter is currently banned from football activities.

Two years later, during a faltering Conservative party conference speech by Theresa May, Brodkin approached the then prime minister and handed her a mocked-up P45, claiming: “Boris asked me to give this to you."

He strode on to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury uninvited in 2015 to rap with Kanye West, distributed swastika-emblazoned golf balls at a Donald Trump speech in 2016 and has also gatecrashed Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor.

Many of his high-profile stunts featured in a Channel 4 programme, Britain's Greatest Hoaxer, in 2017.

Tickets, priced £20, are available at https://leadmill.co.uk or by calling 0114 272 7040. Doors 7pm.