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YouTuber gets his childhood Christmas wish granted

Imogen LeeNorfolk
News imageJaack Maate's Happy Hour Podcast/Jack Dean A man with dark hair, a white T-shirt and a moustache stands next to The Lord Mayor of Norwich, a woman with brown hair with a slight red tint to it and a Tricorn hat on, she is standing next to a man on the other side of her who has blonde short hair and wears a cream jumper with the letter 'P' on it. Next to that man is another man with a brown cap on his head, a short beard and a brown T-shirt, looking surprised. The other people are smiling. Jaack Maate's Happy Hour Podcast/Jack Dean
(From left) Robbie Knox, Lord Mayor of Norwich, Karen Davies, Jack Dean and Stevie White in the podcast studio after their episode where they announced the news

Podcasters with over a million subscribers have said they will be ticking off a bucket list dream by switching on a city's Christmas lights.

Jack Dean, 33, best known from Jaack Maate's Happy Hour podcast on YouTube, and his co-hosts Stevie White, 33, and Robbie Knox, 49, will be the star guests at Norwich's annual switch-on.

The comedy show has seen high-profile guests such as Ricky Gervais, Romesh Ranganathan and Richard Osman join the Norfolk-based trio.

White said: "I never thought it was going to happen, but I have no complaints and I'm so excited for the day."

News imageJeff Spicer/Getty Images for Netflix A man with blonde hair and a ginger beard smiles at the camera. He is wearing a white and black checkered shirt with a white t-shirt underneath and sunglasses hanging off the T-shirt. Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Netflix
Jack Dean co-hosts Happy Hour podcast with his two friends, Stevie and Robbie

Norwich City Council made the announcement on Friday and the lights will be turned on on Thursday, 19 November.

White and Dean met when they were pupils at Dowson First School in Mile Cross, which has since been knocked down.

Dean said the podcast trio were "massive Norwich boys", with Knox originally from Kent but studying at the University of East Anglia and falling in love with the city.

News imageNorwich City Council Norwich City Hall, with its numerous large columns, lit up in blue and purple. Christmas trees adorn the balcony and hundreds of people are stood outside, many of them holding up their mobile phones.Norwich City Council
Norwich's Christmas lights are traditionally switched on outside City Hall

Speaking to Chris Goreham on BBC Radio Norfolk, Dean said: "For years on the podcast we've been singing the praises of this city.

"I want the keys to the city, but I think that's pushing my luck a little bit."

White said the idea came from when they recorded an episode about bucket list items and that "turning on Norwich Christmas lights was the big one".

Dean joked: "It was us or Hugh Jackman."

The lights have previously been switched on by former Norwich City players Todd Cantwell and Dion Dublin, politician Ed Balls and TV presenter Jake Humphrey.

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The Lord Mayor of Norwich, Karen Davies, made the trio's wish come true by surprising them in their London studio with a formal invitation to do the honours.

Davies said: "When the Happy Hour team put themselves forward for the job, they did so with real affection for Norwich and the people who live here.

"We loved their enthusiasm and we want Norwich to be a city that listens and embraces opportunities, especially when they help unite our communities."

Davies joins the trio on their latest podcast episode. Dean said he had had lots of messages from people from places as far away as Grimsby, York and Carlisle who said they were going to "come down and check it out".

Next month's event includes live performances as people gather outside City Hall for the big moment at 19:00 GMT.

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