‘Left-biased’ satire The Mash Report axed
The Mash Report, the BBC show which was accused of left-wing bias, will not return for another series.
The programme, a satirical take on the week’s news which featured Nish Kumar and Rachel Parris, first aired in 2017.
The BBC said in a statement: “We are very proud of The Mash Report but, in order to make room for new comedy shows, we sometimes have to make difficult decisions and it won’t be returning.
In my defence, it was only one bread roll and it missed me
— Nish Kumar (@MrNishKumar) December 3, 2019
“We would like to thank all those involved in four brilliant series and hope to work with Nish Kumar, Rachel Parris and the team in the future.”
Watch: Nish Kumar On The Privilege Of People Who 'News Detox'
In 2018, broadcaster Andrew Neil singled out The Mash Report while complaining that the corporation’s comedy output was too left-wing,
He called the BBC Two programme “self-satisfied, self-adulatory, unchallenged left-wing propaganda”.
I hope @Channel4 snap The Mash Report up.
Great show led by brilliant talents.
What a loss to the BBC.
— Emma Kennedy💙 (@EmmaKennedy) March 12, 2021
New director-general Tim Davie previously dismissed reports that he planned to overhaul BBC comedy, saying “comedy has always been poking at authority”.
But he said: “We need to nurture brilliant writers from all kind of perspectives” and there must be “no assumed point of view”.
In 2019, Kumar had bread thrown at him and was booed off stage after making a political joke at a charity cricket lunch.
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