Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Jimmy Carr reflects on hilarious Sean Lock joke about his tax avoidance scandal

‘I took a tomato to the face from Sean Lock,’ he said of late comedian’s quip

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 29 September 2021 13:16 BST
Comments
Sean Lock's funniest TV moments
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Jimmy Carr has reflected on Sean Lock’s brutal 8 Out of 10 Cats joke about his tax avoidance scandal.

Lock, who died of cancer, aged 58, in August, regularly appeared alongside the comedian on the panel show. In one episode, he mocked Carr over the controversy.

“We all like to put a bit of money away for a rainy day, but I think you’re more prepared than Noah,” he told Carr, to laughs and applause from the audience.

Carr, reflecting on this quip in a new interview with The Guardian, said: “I took a tomato to the face from Sean Lock.”

A tearful Carr also revealed that Lock was a huge support in the wake of the scandal, stating: “When that’s happening to you, you never forget the people who were good to you. And he was so good to me.

“He said: ‘Are you OK? All right, we’ll handle this.’ And then he went out there, was super funny about it, no judgment.”

The 48-year-old was notoriously exposed for taking part in a tax avoidance scheme in 2012.

An investigation by The Times accused Carr of sheltering £3.3m a year through the K2 scheme, a legal way of lowering the amount of tax paid.

Carr apologised at the time, saying he made an “error of judgement”.

Sean Locke died of cancer, aged 58, in August
Sean Locke died of cancer, aged 58, in August (Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images)

“I’m no longer involved in it and will in future conduct my financial affairs much more responsibly. Apologies to everyone,” he said.

Reflecting on his time working with Lock, Carr said: “After he died I looked back and went: ‘Hang on – was I in a double act?’ We did 250 TV shows together and I sort of didn’t notice.”

Lock is survived by his wife Anoushka and their three children.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in