Joe Lycett is among the famous faces taking part in The Celebrity Traitors season two, which returned to screens last night. The star-studded spin-off of the civilian BBC game show is now into its second series, having debuted its inaugural run just last year.
Comedian Alan Carr emerged victorious with the substantial £87,500 jackpot after successfully deceiving fellow celebrities into thinking he was a Faithful. Now 21 fresh contestants are tackling the game of betrayal, guided by presenter Claudia Winkleman.
They've been divided into Faithfuls and Traitors and must dodge elimination to stand a chance of claiming the cash prize for charity. Amongst this year's famous faces is comedian Joe Lycett, who would have been recognised by an entirely different moniker had he joined the programme just six years ago.
Why did Joe Lycett change his name?
Joe officially altered his name to Hugo Boss back in March 2020, as a form of protest against the fashion house. The wealthy corporation had been dispatching cease-and-desist letters to smaller enterprises and charities that were similarly using the term 'boss' in their titles, reports Wales Online.
The comedian was particularly troubled when Hugo Boss issued a warning letter to Welsh firm Boss Brewing, previously located in Swansea. He believed that the "massive company taking on a little company" wasn't "fair".
Speaking to the BBC, he contended that people wouldn't mistake a local brewery for the renowned Hugo Boss brand. So the Birmingham-born star took control of the situation and altered his legal name through deed poll.
Revealing his new identity on X, formerly Twitter, Joe posted: "It's clear that @HUGOBOSS HATES people using their name. Unfortunately for them, this week I legally changed my name by deed poll, and I am now officially known as Hugo Boss. All future statements from me are not from Joe Lycett but from Hugo Boss. Enjoy."
Hugo Boss responds and Joe reverts
At the time, the firm Hugo Boss told the BBC: "As an open-minded company, we would like to clarify that we do not oppose the free use of language in any way.
"We accept the generic term 'boss' and its various and frequent uses in different languages. We welcome the comedian formerly known as Joe Lycett as a member of the Hugo Boss family."
Joe's stunt was warmly embraced on social media, with more than 50,000 people liking his post. But the 38 year old eventually reverted to the name he was given at birth.
In April 2020, the TV personality shared a lengthy statement disclosing that he had "decided to go back to the Lycetts". He continues to describe himself as "the comedian formerly known as Hugo Boss" across social media.
The first episode of Celebrity Traitors season two is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
