Last One Laughing UK star Harriet Kemsley has revealed her DMs have lit up with admirers following her viral ping pong sketch on the hit Prime Video series.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Harriet, who is currently single following her divorce from fellow comic Bobby Mair, admits she has been shocked by the overwhelming response because she feels the skit is so ‘unsexy.’
The stand-up, 37, featured alongside comedians Bob Mortimer, Richard Ayewade, and actress Daisy May Cooper in the six-part show, and pretended to fire ping pong balls out of her nether regions during her ‘Joker’ act in a bid to make her fellow contestants laugh and eliminate them from the game.
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However, she admits the scene was not only lodged in the minds of her new male fanbase.
Harriet explained: ‘I was trying to think of something that was silly but also had surprise elements in it because that would most likely make people laugh.
‘The thing is it’s so unsexy, there’s nothing sexy about it but men have got confused because I have had a lot of messages since the show so I would just like to say I cannot actually shoot out ping pong balls, although to be fair, I haven’t ever triedMy DMs have been insane, I have never known anything like it and it’s very confusing because I am single and I can’t get a date in real life, so I don’t understand.’
She added: ‘I was in a cafe and this woman was so sweet and she said, “Oh my goodness, it’s you, ping pong balls!”‘
Last One Laughing UK has become one of the most talked about comedy shows of the year following its release last month.
The format has been a hit worldwide and the first British series hosted by Jimmy Carr, still available to watch on Prime Video, has followed suit.
Harriet, who shares a four-year-old daughter with her ex, was one of ten comics, also including Rob Beckett, Joe Wilkinson, Lou Sanders, Joe Lycett, Judi Love and Sara Pascoe, tasked with making each other laugh in a Big Brother style house, fitted with numerous cameras, within a time-frame of six hours.
Footage is beamed back to Jimmy and co-host Roisin Conaty in a separate room and if the duo spot one of the contestants cracking a smile, giggling or out-right laughing, red lights flash, and the former would enter and dish out a yellow card.
One more warning, and the player is banished from the game, which also sees each contestant perform their ‘Joker’ act on stage.
Harriet says she was not told who she would be competing against before the show started, revealing there was a Masked Singer-style secrecy operation in place to keep their identities quiet from one another.She explained: ‘Everything was kept top secret.
‘They put us in separate blacked out trailers, we weren’t meant to know who else was doing the show, so it was like this big secret mission.
‘The set was so beautiful and that’s one of the things that made us go a bit mad with the carousels, it was like a nightmare.
‘When the lights went red then you were allowed to laugh, and everyone would shake it off and do some paces and get it out of your system before the lights changed again.’
Harriet says filming was made extra hard by the fact many of the contestants are her ‘comedy heroes’ and it was difficult for her brain to ‘compute’ the fact she could not physically show any signs of amusement when interacting with them.
She recalled: ‘It was crazy. It felt like I was in this mad dream because it was all of my comedy heroes in one place.
‘But then you’re not supposed to laugh at them so my brain just couldn’t compute it.
‘I was on the edge of a panic attack for all of the show because the more you’re not meant to laugh, the more you want to laugh, it puts you back to being in school.’People seemed to really enjoy how much I suffered throughout the series, it’s insane the amount of pleasure people got from seeing me have a mini breakdown. I am very competitive, and I wanted to do the job which was not to laugh.’
The Kent-born star admits former The IT Crowd favourite Richard was the hardest to crack because he was ‘always on the front foot’, desperately trying to catch out his fellow comedians.
But she says veteran star Bob, the eventual winner, was in a class of his own.
Harriet said: ‘He is so naturally funny and warm and it’s kind of a mad thing when you get to interact with someone you have grown up admiring.
‘Bob had to win, he had to be the winner, and it couldn’t be anyone else because he’s so funny and so loved.’
Harriet revealed the stars didn’t have an end of series get-together due to the fact they were all staying in different hotels, but admitted she spoke to close pal Lou on the phone afterwards: ‘We were like “Oh my God, what just happened?”‘
Trying to get her head around the flirty DMs sent off the back of the show is also something Harriet is struggling to digest.
Indeed, she’s not used to the attention as Harriet admits female comedians don’t usually have large male followings.She explained: ‘It’s something we talk about, traditionally men have not been interested in female stand-ups. But I will say my DMs at the moment disprove that.
‘We are trying to change the narrative that female stand-ups are sexy because I’m not sure men have picked up on it yet. You want to be with someone that you find funny, and they find funny, and I would never want to be with someone who doesn’t find me funny.’
Following the end of her six-year marriage, Harriet has embraced being single and it’s become a big part of her act, as fans can see for themselves during her upcoming tour in London’s Leicester Square Theatre, which has been extended following her stint on Last One Laughing.
The mother says writing comedy around her heartbreak has been a ‘cathartic’ experience and connecting with other women going through the same life changes helped her to feel less lonely.
She said: ‘I never expected to get a divorce, and a breakup is seen as such a negative thing and obviously the last couple of years have been so hard.
‘But I have found moments of real joy in it, one of the greatest things is you realise what friends you have and trying to find a community of women in the same position has been one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.
‘It’s hard to keep reminding yourself and even I watch cartoons with my daughter and it’s a very stereotypical family unit but it’s going to give us the chance to be the best versions of ourselves.’
The star’s divorce was also the inspiration behind her podcast, Single Ladies In Your Area, which she co-hosts with fellow comedian Amy Gledhill.
And Harriet believes the podcast, which returns next month with a new series, has become a great ‘community of people who are trying to enjoy this stage of life.’
She added: ‘It’s about dating, and I think most dating podcasts, the hosts are really good at it, but me and Amy are really bad, but people have warmed to that because it’s the experience for most people.
‘We’re learning so much and we’re going to put this into action in series two. Stephen Bailey comes on the first episode and just absolutely tears us apart. He went on my dating profile and told me I shouldn’t be talking about how much I like sloths.’
And her dream podcast guest?
‘I would love to get Katherine Ryan on because she would be really good at telling us what to do, she tells it as it is, and me and Amy need help.’