Dom Joly unveils himself as character ‘Boris Johnson’

English television comedian Dom Joly has revealed he has been playing a character called “Boris Johnson” for fifteen years, with the comic stunt culminating in his becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The funnyman, briefly a celebrity in the early 2000’s thanks to popular hidden camera show Trigger Happy TV, said he took over the persona of Mr Johnson after the original died of sex addiction in 2004.

Mr Joly revealed for the first time today that his “obsessive, theatrical pursuit” of No 10 as the character Mr Johnson was the ultimate reason why Trigger Happy TV petered out after two series on UK television.

The comic said a wig of straw bleached with urine and advanced prosthetics were key to his “carrying out the greatest prank in British politics since David Amess”.

The revelation that Boris Johnson is an experimental comedy character leaves a potential vacancy in No 10 following the fictional Mr Johnson’s victory in the Tory leadership contest over the inexplicably real Jeremy Hunt.

Mr Joly said: “Now everyone knows the truth – that Boris Johnson is basically a 51-year-old minor celebrity best known for shouting into a massive phone – I would imagine the British public doesn’t want to have me as prime minister.”

However, in surprising snap-polling results, UK voters appear to be quite happy to be governed by a fictional character who can’t control the volume of his hands or keep his voice from wandering.

It means Mr Joly is facing the daunting prospect of having to enter Downing Street after all tomorrow, with his first task selecting a Cabinet. He is said to be considering Chris Morris to be Chancellor of the Exchequer.