Dom Joly's giant mobile phone "nicked"
- Dom Joly has confirmed that the giant mobile phone from Trigger Happy TV has been stolen from a museum in Amsterdam
- "I'd love to say it's a prank but unfortunately, it's not" Joly told British Comedy Guide. "And I'm really, really pissed off."
- Joly has said that the giant plastic prop is insured for £5million
Dom Joly has confirmed that his giant mobile phone has been stolen.
The comic and travel writer took to social media yesterday to share a video in which he said that he was "gutted" by the theft of the iconic Trigger Happy TV prop while it was the centrepiece of an exhibition at the Mobile Phone Museum in Amsterdam.
He explained that he'd received an email from the exhibition curator telling him that "on the second day the museum was open, someone walked in, no alarms and just picked up the big mobile and left."
There has been speculation that the theft is a prank by the creator of the hidden camera Channel 4 comedy, which first aired 25 years ago.
However, Joly told British Comedy Guide that "the irony is too much because I nicked it to start with. When I first got the thing 25 years ago, I nicked it off a store display. So I suppose I deserve this. I'd love to say it's a prank but unfortunately, it's not. And I'm really, really pissed off."
In a post last month, Joly suggested that he had had to insure the phone for £5million before sending it to the museum.
"It's quite weird," he told BCG. "Because in some senses it's worth a fortune, certainly to me. And in other senses, it's worth nothing. So I'm not quite sure where we stand."
Joly, who continues the live dates for his The Conspiracy Tour at the Comedy Hall in Tiverton tomorrow night, added: "I don't think the Dutch police are taking it that seriously at the moment. I've talked to them and they just think that someone has wandered off with a plastic phone, so I don't think they really get the gravity of the situation.
"The museum has reported it to them and I'm speaking to them on Monday but I don't really know what's happening. I'm not holding out much hope for it.
BCG has approached the Mobile Phone Museum for comment.
Here's are Trigger Happy TV clips featuring the phone: