Episode Details

TV Insiders Peter Fincham and Jimmy Mulville debate the BBC’s decision to remove potentially offensive sketches from That Mitchell and Webb Look, asking whether modern comedy can still break taboos without being censored. They also discuss Trump TV & press freedom, Strictly Come Dancing and why some television formats survive their stars.

In this episode:

• Why the BBC is reviewing That Mitchell and Webb Look before its iPlayer return
• The controversy around the The Civil War sketch, blackface and the limits of contextual comedy
• Why some sketches involving Gary Rhodes, Bill Oddie and Jimmy Savile may have been removed
• How Brass Eye used irony to challenge media attitudes
• The Real Housewives of ISIS sketch and Jimmy’s police warning
• Peter time at Talkback and the alleged threat connected to the Krays
• Donald Trump’s new 24/7 Trump TV channel and its production values… or lack thereof
• Whether YouTube could become the future home of political satire
• Does changing presenters can make or break a television format?
• What Strictly Come Dancing, The Great British Bake Off, The Grand Tour and Top Gear reveal about presenter changes
• The Apprentice’s decision to keep Alan Sugar as its central figure
• The TV-am “Famous Five” and the dangers of putting too many stars together
• The Generation Game, Bruce Forsyth, Larry Grayson and the importance of a strong format
• Nigella Lawson and Peter’s most unexpected television regret

Have a question, opinion or suggestion? Leave a comment on YouTube, find us on social media @InsidersTVPod, or email us at podcasts@hattrick.com.

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Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:40 Why BBC cut 11 sketches from That Mitchell and Webb Look

16:17 Trump bans news outlets and launches Trump TV

24:36 Will Strictly Come Dancing survive new presenters?

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Jimmy Mulville is the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hat Trick Productions. His list of hit shows includes Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Derry Girls, Outnumbered and Episodes. In the US, Hat Trick launched Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 1997, which ran on ABC for seven years and was the first British series to be recreated for American network television by a British producer.

Peter Fincham ran TalkBack, where he executive produced major shows including I’m Alan Partridge, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Da Ali G Show. He went on to be Controller of BBC1, then Director of Television at ITV, before returning to the independent sector as co-CEO of Expectation, the company behind Clarkson’s Farm and Alma’s Not Normal. New episodes every Friday.

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