Comedian Joe Lycett is giving away 500 pints at 30 pubs across the UK this Friday, as he hails locals as "one of the best things" about Britain. The star, currently appearing in The Celebrity Traitors, staged his recent Channel 4 show in a fictional boozer, The Lycett Arms, which ended its first series last week.
Pubs as community hubs
Lycett said: "Pubs are one of the best things about this country, along with saveloy sausages and the Sugababes, and I'd love you to go to your local this Friday to give them some love. If you're very lucky you might even get a pint on me, and if you don't I reckon you'll still have a nice time."
He added: "If we're honest, the money might have run out by the time you get there, but if it has, you can buy a drink yourself and support a local business. Hurrah!"
Celebrity landlords and industry strain
Lycett is not the only star stepping behind the bar recently. James Bond star Daniel Craig has bought a 250-year-old pub in north London, the Horseshoe, which is said to be haunted. Other celebrity landlords include Idris Elba, James Blunt, Jeremy Clarkson, and Eighties singer Rick Astley, who owns the Mikkeller bar in London, one of the 30 taking part.
This comes as landlords face massive strain from high costs, with pubs closing at a rate of one a day this year. The Mirror has long championed the industry through its Your Pub Needs You campaign.
How to get a free pint
Those wanting a free pint should head to one of the listed pubs and ask for Joe Lycett's tab. Tabs will open at different times, so people can try their luck at any point on Friday evening, with a limit of one drink per customer.
The pubs include The Black Prince in Northampton, The Old Ivy in Clerkenwell, The 8 Sail Brewery in Heckington, The Anchor Inn in Oldbury-on-Severn, The Bluesdawg in Mapperley, The Red Hart Inn in Gloucestershire, The Somerset Inn Micropub in Chard, Bristol Beer Factory, The Miller in London Bridge, The Old Bike Store in Worthing, Preston Park Tavern in Brighton, The Unicorn in Oxfordshire, Signature Brew in Haggerston, The Crown in Accrington, The Old Monkey in Manchester, The Grapes in Bath, The Dog House in Kent, The Chase at The Old Barge in Hertford, Stage and Stem in Cardiff, The Peveril Of The Peak in Manchester, The Butchers Arms in Merthyr Tydfil, The Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich, The Crown in Cuddington, The Hallamshire House in Sheffield, The Dodo in Hanwell, Dexter and Jones in Knutsford, The Selden Arms in Worthing, Red Lion in Wombourne, The Crown Inn in Harbury, and Mikkeller Pub in Shoreditch, London.
Tim Martin, founder of pub chain Wetherspoons, said wages now account for around £1.50 - about a third - of the cost of an average pint nationally, which he put at £5. "In supermarkets, it's about 12%," he told Lord Mark Price, the former Waitrose boss, on his The Happy WorkLife Podcast. "So when you put up the minimum wage by 10%, it's 15p on a pint in a pub and it's about 1p or 2p in a supermarket. So the gap is widening."
He added: "It's quite a blunt instrument. When governments step into the market and say we are going to control your biggest cost, I think it's full of double-edged swords for everyone."
