Is all publicity good publicity? New uncensored subscription radio station Fubar Radio announced today that it has signed Justin Lee Collins to be its drivetime DJ. Or, as the tabloids might put it, disgraced star Justin Lee Collins makes comeback bid. The long-haired Bristolian comedian-turned-all-round-entertainer has had a low-profile since 2012 when he was he was sentenced to 140 hours of community work for harassing his ex-girlfriend Anna Larke.
The announcement has prompted some serious head-scratching. Should the station be employing Collins? It's a classic difficult decision. He has served his sentence, he has a right to work. I guess in this case you have a right not to subscribe to him. Or maybe to paraphrase one wag on Twitter, you have a right to cancel your introductory free subscription. Will those on a free trial listen to the man who was on trial ?
It will be interesting to see if any of the other comedians on the station, such as Richard Herring (who aired some thoughts about JLC on his blog here in 2012) and Vikki Stone, comment on the signing. Collins has certainly shown remorse about the way he treated his girlfriend. He was recently quoted in the Sun as saying "I will regret what I said for the rest of my life. It was irrational, bizarre and disgusting. I've tried to make sense of it but I can't." So maybe we should let him start to rebuild his career. Even someone with a conviction is allowed to work and radio is the sort of thing that Collins does for a living. He likes chatting to people. Should he now be forced to work in a call centre?
The trouble with comedy is that sometimes stories stick around. Just because Jim Davidson has won Celebrity Big Brother does not mean that everyone can easily overlook his less cuddly-uncle past. Ken Dodd may have to put up with people making jokes about his tax arrangements for the rest of his career even though he did not do anything illegal. Jokes have already been made about Collins following today's announcement. In the court case it was said that he made his girlfriend write down her sexual history in a Pukka Pad. Someone on Twitter wondered if Collins' show would be sponsored by Pukka Pads.
Maybe it depends on what one has done. Ken Dodd made jokes about his tax affairs himself the last time I saw him nearly a decade ago and probably still does. Justin Lee Collins certainly can't do that, however uncensored Fubar Radio is. If you put "Justin Lee Collins P" into Google on my laptop the first thing that comes up is "Justin Lee Collins Pukka Pads". Comedy fans don't forget. Let's see if they forgive.
