Yahoo News BBC Two brings back Frankie Boyle for comedy show in bid to 'gain relevance'
BBC Two is to become more “contemporary”, its controller has said, as he announced the return of controversial comedian Frankie Boyle as one of the channel's leading voices.
Patrick Holland unveiled a new season of programmes intended “to make the channel feel more vital and relevant to the audience”, with politics and social affairs to the fore.
In recent years, BBC Two has had ratings hits with gentle factual series, including An Island Parish, Coast and The Great Pottery Throwdown.
Holland said he wanted programmes “that shine fresh light on contemporary life”.
They include a hard-hitting series about families living below the poverty line and a documentary tracing the “turbulent” months since Brexit.
There will be a film about the death of MP Jo Cox, featuring contributions from her family and friends, and exploring the motives for her murder.
A docu-drama, 20 Days, will tell the story of the Conservative Party’s 2016 leadership campaign, from David Cameron’s resignation to Theresa May becoming Prime Minister. Actors will play Cameron, May, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, and the programme promises to “lay bare the politicking and positioning, betrayals and blunders” of the time.
However, Holland said: “It’s not The West Wing for the Conservative Party.”
The channel will also view the political landscape through comedy, and Holland said he had been determined to give Boyle his own topical show.
The comedian has been repeatedly censured by regulators. He was reprimanded by the BBC Trust for making “humiliating” remarks about the appearance of Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington on BBC Two show Mock the Week in 2012, and branded “offensive” by Ofcom in 2011 for mocking Katie Price’s disabled son, Harvey. He has also made several distasteful jokes about the Queen.
As a result, his new show is unlikely to be broadcast live. Holland said it would be “challenging viewing”. He added: “I said when I first got the job that voices like Frankie’s were really important.
“If we’re going to be making the channel feel more contemporary and more relevant, then we’re going to be looking at the issues of the day and Frankie’s is one of the voices that does that.”
One lighter note in the schedule is The Big Family Cooking Showdown, featuring Zoe Ball and former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain.
Holland denied that it had been designed to compete with Bake Off, which has moved to Channel 4.
