Ho-Lee Fuk

Ho-Lee Fuk (Chinese: 福文和) is the name of one of several Ricky Gervais' comedy characters conceived on 26 April 2003 as a means of pushing the boundary of acceptable language on a broadcast radio show. The character himself is a stereotypical "Oriental" character, based upon Ricky's description of his predilection to wearing a "Lamp-shade" as opposed to the traditional English bowler hat.

The main gag involving Ho-Lee Fuk is one where several characters visit the imaginary house of Ricky, with hilarity ensuing after repeated emphasis on the word "Fuk". As the word is being repeated by Gervais, Karl attempts to cover the sound of the word by coughing but unfortunately fails to censor Ricky's gag, as he further involves Tourettes Boy, who through an outburst mentions Ho-Lee repeatedly. Fuk attempts to re-enter then imaginary house of Ricky several times, but is told to go away.

Ricky and Steve try and prod Karl to reproduce the name, but ultimately Karl refers to him as "The Chinese Fella", and avoids repeating the name. Steve attempts to negotiate with Karl to repeat the name, feigning forgetfulness but once again Karl refuses to speak the name by saying "if you can't remember it, then it can't be that good".

Additional Information

The lamp-shade hat is actually a colloquial term which describes the Chinese Straw or Bamboo "Peasant Hat", often used by farmers as an inexpensive means of protection from inclement weather conditions.