Joe Lycett pays bar tab at fellow Traitors star's local

Comedian and Celebrity Traitors star Joe Lycett has announced he is putting £100 behind the bar of 30 pubs in England so people can "have a drink on me".

He said it was in an effort to support local pubs which were "closing at a rate of two a day" which he said made him "very sad".

In Lancashire, he chose the Crown pub on Whalley Road in Accrington, after a recommendation from his fellow Traitors star Julie Hesmondhalgh.

Landlord Will Gilmartin said: "It's absolutely fantastic. It's a great gesture from Joe and its amazing from Julie."

"I didn't actually know she was doing it," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

Lycett made the announcement on his Channel 4 programme Live From The Lycett Arms, reeling off a list of pubs who would get a £100 tab.

Will said he had no idea his pub was mentioned until "my uncle messaged me saying The Crown pub's on the Channel 4 Lycett Arms".

"I was absolutely amazed," he said.

"Julie has been a regular here for a few years and I knew that she was on Celebrity Traitors," he said.

"It's great when she pops into the pub and has her picture taken with all the regulars".

The pub, which is next door to Accrington Stanley Football Club, has been run by Will and his wife Emma for the last 16 years.

But Will said keeping it going was "very, very difficult in this climate".

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a 20% cut in business rates for qualifying pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England, effective from April 2027.

"There's pubs closing every week, the cost of living crisis is just getting worse," Will said.

"So every little helps, and I'm so happy and delighted.

"Thank you Joe and Julie."

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