Frustrated news reporter Jonathan Pie lines up Guildford, Brighton and Portsmouth dates

Dates will include Guildford’s G Live on February 1, Brighton Dome on February 22, Portsmouth Guildhall on February 27 and 28 and Southampton’s O2 Guildhall on March 6.

The motormouth news reporter will be gasping for breath once more as he takes to stages up and down the land with his “weapons grade takedowns of the people in charge and the state of the nation.” Tickets are on sale at jonathanpie.com.

Heroes & Villains marks the fifth time Tom Walker has toured the character of Jonathan Pie across the country, and Pie has changed in that time.

“Like me he’s got a bit older… maybe not much wiser. In this show Pie has reached a crossroads where he has to confront some of his own failings. Which sound very grand but, essentially, I think he’s beginning to realise that he might be a bit of a ****. As a performer I’m much more comfortable putting on the suit and walking out into these amazing venues across the country. It used to scare the hell out of me. These days I enjoy the challenge much more…whilst retaining a healthy amount of terror.”

Pie’s previous tour, Fake News (The Corona Remix), saw him fired from the BBC after being caught saying something horrific on live TV.

“With each new show I kind of reset the clock. I’m not sure how long the character could last as an unemployed news reporter. I think he’ll make reference to his sacking, but sometimes the character moves on outside the world of the live shows. So he’s back at the Beeb like nothing happened, but I think he’s terrified of doing or saying the wrong thing because he’s very aware of how fragile a career in broadcasting can be. “

And now he is starting again: “Having been fired, Pie is back at the BBC. With a recent… cough… restructure at the top of BBC News, he’s managed to wangle his way back into his old job.

“Pie has spent most of his professional life under the Torie so I think he’ll be looking back at the last decade of chaos. But Pie is also facing some moral questions of his own. Is he really the rabid leftie that he thought he was? Now he’s hit middle age, he’s not so sure.

“I’m really keen for the show to be a really fun night out. I want it to be just as enjoyable for the partner that’s been dragged along as it is for the hardcore Pie fan. So, while there’ll be plenty of politics, they’ll also be a fair amount of silliness in there as well.”

Jonathan Pie is the creation of Tom Walker. In 2021 he toured on the back of the pandemic.

Black Lives Matter, the climate crisis, the NHS, austerity, social media, cancel culture, plus Covid-19, nationwide lockdowns and the ensuing fallout were all grist to his mill as he berated the people in power.