<\/p>
The cancellation of the long-running series Mock the Week was spurred by the BBC having to make \u201ctough financial decisions\u201d, according to the broadcaster\u2019s director of unscripted programming.<\/p>\n
Speaking at this year\u2019s Edinburgh International TV Festival, Kate Phillips also suggested that the panel show\u2019s axing would allow the BBC to explore new ideas and formats.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about trying new things,\u201d said Phillips. \u201cMock the Week has been a fantastic series, it\u2019s been on air for a very long time and we\u2019ve got to take tough financial decisions and we want to create headspace for new ideas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of satire on the BBC and Mock the Week will have a terrific final hurrah this autumn.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also dismissed the suggestion that the BBC is moving away from political satire. \u201cThere was no decision about \u2018we can\u2019t do so much satire, we have to behave ourselves\u2019 \u2013 absolutely not, our satire story will always be strong, but it\u2019s like, what\u2019s the next idea that\u2019s coming through?\u201d<\/p>
It was first reported earlier this month that Mock the Week would be ending after 17 years and 21 seasons<\/a>, with host Dara O Briain saying at the time: \u201cThe storylines were getting crazier and crazier; global pandemics, divorce from Europe, novelty short-term Prime Ministers. It couldn\u2019t go on. We just couldn\u2019t be more silly than the news was already.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a> in the wake of the news, comedian and former show regular Andy Parsons suggested that the series had gradually moved away from political satire across its run<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a political panel show and it arguably got the best comics at the time on the show,\u201d said Parsons.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then gradually, over the course of a number of years, the BBC decided that actually the political comedy show was going to be Have I Got News for You, and Mock the Week would be a showcase for younger comics who didn\u2019t necessarily have much grasp of politics or the news, they weren\u2019t interested in them. And therefore, inevitably, the show changed.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more coverage from the Edinburgh International TV Festival 2022:<\/strong><\/p>\n Looking for something else to watch? Check out our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our dedicated\u00a0Entertainment<\/a>\u00a0hub for more.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Morgan Jeffery Published: Thursday, 25 August 2022 at 12:00 am The cancellation of the long-running series Mock the Week was spurred by the BBC having to make \u201ctough financial decisions\u201d, according to the broadcaster\u2019s director of unscripted programming. Speaking at this year\u2019s Edinburgh International TV Festival, Kate Phillips also suggested that the panel show\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":20865,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/mock-the-week-axe-was-tough-decision-says-bbc-unscripted-boss.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/mock-the-week-axe-was-tough-decision-says-bbc-unscripted-boss-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/mock-the-week-axe-was-tough-decision-says-bbc-unscripted-boss-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/mock-the-week-axe-was-tough-decision-says-bbc-unscripted-boss.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/mock-the-week-axe-was-tough-decision-says-bbc-unscripted-boss.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/mock-the-week-axe-was-tough-decision-says-bbc-unscripted-boss.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/mock-the-week-axe-was-tough-decision-says-bbc-unscripted-boss.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Morgan Jeffery Published: Thursday, 25 August 2022 at 12:00 am The cancellation of the long-running series Mock the Week was spurred by the BBC having to make \u201ctough financial decisions\u201d, according to the broadcaster\u2019s director of unscripted programming. Speaking at this year\u2019s Edinburgh International TV Festival, Kate Phillips also suggested that the panel show\u2019s…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/20864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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