Entertainment

Jack Whitehall afraid he's on verge of scandal for saying the wrong things

Jack Whitehall says he sometimes gets himself into trouble with the things he says.
Jack Whitehall says he sometimes gets himself into trouble with the things he says. Jack Whitehall says he sometimes gets himself into trouble with the things he says.

Comic Jack Whitehall has said he is worried that he might sabotage his success as he feels as if he is “on the verge of scandal”.

The comedian and actor, who has previously been criticised for his risque jokes about members of the Royal Family, said he sometimes says the wrong thing after a few drinks.

He told Radio Times magazine: “I feel like I very much could be on the verge of scandal.

“I go out and probably drink too much on tour and say the odd thing that gets me in trouble.”

He added: “Sometimes I regret those things because I know what happens afterwards. Some of them I wouldn’t say again, some I would.

Jack Whitehall (Ian West/PA)
Jack Whitehall (Ian West/PA)
Jack Whitehall (Ian West/PA)

“I don’t want to set myself up as a family entertainer.”

Jack – whose latest role is in the BBC adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s 1920s satire Decline And Fall – said he has started to become “more conscious about saying things about people”.

“I don’t like my comedy when it becomes nasty or mean,” he said.

“That’s where James Corden is so smart; his comedy comes from a good place. It’s not nasty.

“When I started doing A League Of Their Own (the Sky panel show that Corden hosts) I was a bit cheaper, a bit snider.”

The star, 28, also opened up about being irked by people assuming he got a leg-up in his career courtesy of his producer and agent father Michael Whitehall.

Comedian Jack Whitehall at the National Television Awards
Comedian Jack Whitehall at the National Television Awards
Jack Whitehall (Ian West/PA)

“That needles me,” he said.

“The idea that I got to where I am because of my dad is the one that hurts the most.

“It’s an easy way to dismiss everything, any ability or hard work, in one fell swoop.”

Jack said when he started in comedy he was “desperate” to not talk about his privileged upbringing, which saw him raised in west London, attending exclusive schools.His career flourished when he did start to play up to who he was, and the comic often jokes about privilege.But he said: “The advantages you get because of the public school system and how unfair it is – that sits with you for the rest of your life.”The Radio Times is on sale on Tuesday.