Josh Widdicombe ‘honoured’ and ‘genuinely humbled’ to receive honorary degree

Comedian Josh Widdicombe has said he is “honoured” and “genuinely humbled” to have received an honorary degree from the University of Exeter.

The presenter and actor, 41, known for appearing on topical comedy programme The Last Leg, grew up in Devon and attended Exeter College before he obtained a degree from the University of Manchester.

Addressing graduates at a ceremony on Monday, he said: “This is a genuine, huge honour. When they got in touch with me about this I was thrilled.”

“I would like to begin by thanking everyone at Exeter University for what we all know is an undeserved honour,” he added.

“I’m genuinely humbled, particularly because I didn’t even go to this university.”

Widdicombe offered the graduates some advice and told them “your 20s are meant for experimenting”.

“When I left university, I was kind of panicked,” he said.

“What am I going to do? What am I going to do next? It’s not a race.

“If you don’t know, you will find out, there is no rush about this at all. I spent years at Waterstones. I worked at a petrol station … Some of those things I didn’t think were a good use of my time but life isn’t a straight path.”

His last piece of advice was to “not pin your emotions to the England football team” in reference to the Three Lions defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

Widdicombe, who has appeared on panel shows including QI and A League Of Their Own, co-hosts the podcast Parenting Hell with comedian Rob Beckett and is also known for appearing in the sitcom Josh.