\u201cSomebody had said at the beginning of the series, we knew Mock the Week was being taken off air, but I don\u2019t think we realised that we might out-survive the new prime minister,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we can claim any role in that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 9:30am on a Tuesday morning when I speak to the comedian over the phone. After launching into typically British small-talk about the recent drop in temperature (\u201cIt\u2019s gone very winter-ish\u201d), we move on to chat about the Mock the Week finale \u2013 which seems to have come at a perfect time thanks to the utter chaos playing out in Westminster this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we knew we were going into the last series, I always thought that surely the news won\u2019t really matter by the time that we get to the last one,\u201d he says. \u201cBut actually \u2013 it\u2019s fantastic because there\u2019s an enormous amount of news.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>From Kwasi Kwarteng\u2019s recent ousting from his Exchequer post (\u201cYou can be Chancellor for 38 days, so lasting 17 years doing something is really remarkable\u201d), to exiting Home Secretary Suella Braverman\u2019s comments on the \u201ctofu-eating wokerati\u201d<\/a>, the panel certainly had a lot to work with ahead of their taping on Wednesday \u2013 but the show\u2019s permanent departure from the BBC Two schedules is still a gloomy occasion.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve actually felt remarkably normal,\u201d Dennis says. \u201cBut I mean, it\u2019s kind of sad, isn\u2019t it? In all of these things, I always kind of become positive and in one way, television shows never really die now.<\/p>\n \u201cI quite often get stopped in the street by people saying they saw Mock the Week last night at a time when it\u2019s not on and I go, \u2018Hang on, how did you see it? You must have seen it on Dave?\u2019 and they say, \u2018Well, no I think it was this week\u2019s.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Well, what news were we discussing?\u2019, and they said, \u2018I think it was about the Gulf War?\u2019,\u201d he chuckles, before noting there is an upside \u2013 at least he\u2019ll be \u201cabsolutely frozen in age\u201d thanks to the many Dave repeats to come.<\/p>\n When the BBC announced in August that Mock the Week was to end<\/a>, the cancellation didn\u2019t come as a huge surprise to Dennis. \u201cYou\u2019re always expecting things to end, aren\u2019t you? You can\u2019t possibly after 17 years go, \u2018Oh, nobody\u2019s given us a chance.’\u201d<\/p>\n As for why he stuck around for over 196 recordings and 240 shows (including the compilation episodes), the BBC just kept asking. \u201cIt\u2019s just good fun. It\u2019s a really good, funny bunch of people and just a nice thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n When confirming the cancellation news to The Mirror<\/a> at the time, host Dara \u00d3 Briain pointed to headlines \u201cgetting crazier and crazier\u201d on the current affairs front, adding: \u201cWe just couldn\u2019t be more silly than the news was already.\u201d However, Dennis thinks that\u2019s already been disproven \u2013 mainly due to this current run of Mock the Week.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of an interesting age where you seem to be able to say anything, you know, that sort of fake news-y stuff is kind of interesting, but I don\u2019t think [the news today] is more difficult to satirise at all,\u201d he says. \u201cI think if you look back over the 17 years, it\u2019s all been pretty silly.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, Dennis thinks that comedy has become \u201ca much bigger thing\u201d since Mock the Week first began. \u201cThere are far more clubs and people are much more used to going out for a night of comedy in a way that they would have gone out to see a band or something. But it\u2019s become a much more normal thing.\u201d<\/p>\n There may be more bums in seats in comedy clubs, however there\u2019s no denying that the death of Mock the Week will make it harder for newer comedians to move across to TV. Over the years, the series has championed up-and-comers, from Zoe Lyons, Russell Howard, Josh Widdicombe and Sara Pascoe, to more recently the likes of Sophie Duker, Maisie Adam, Alasdair Beckett-King and Ahir Shah.<\/p>\n Is Mock the Week just the beginning of the panel show decline? \u201cThere have always been things saying, \u2018This is the end of the sitcom,\u2019 or \u2018This is the end of the sketch show\u2019 or whatever. And that might be true briefly, but they always come back again.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds: \u201cThe panel show is a really good, funny format \u2013 getting funny people together. That\u2019s all it is, isn\u2019t it? I\u2019ve always found it interesting actually that panel shows don\u2019t really exist in America. It\u2019s a very sort of British thing, because we\u2019ve never quite known what to do with stand-ups.<\/p>\n \u201cIn America, a stand-up would get a sitcom, and that does happen a bit here, but mainly with stand-ups, you put them into panel shows. I\u2019ve always felt a bit like a fraud actually because I\u2019m not a stand-up. I do a slightly different thing. But I think panel shows will survive.\u201d<\/p>\n When I ask what his favourite joke was or whether there were any of his gags that didn\u2019t make it to air, Dennis admits that his memory on those points isn\u2019t great \u2013 and you can\u2019t really blame him after spending 17 years writing \u201creams and reams\u201d of jokes. However, one of his highlights has been working with Milton Jones \u2013 the colourful shirt-wearing, wild-haired comic known for his scene-stealing one-liners.<\/p> \u201cI\u2019ve always really loved Milton. Just watching Milton\u2019s one-liners. He\u2019s an amazing comic,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve really enjoyed working with Frankie [Boyle]. I mean all of them \u2013 I feel rather glad I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n While Mock the Week has had a good innings, Dennis doesn\u2019t rule out returning to the panel show if it found a new life on another channel, but says: \u201cIt depends who it was picked up by.<\/p>\n \u201cFor now, you just have to go, \u2018Wow, what a great run.\u2019 You\u2019re supposed to mourn it for a bit and then just kind of get on with the next bit of your career.\u201d<\/p>\n On the topic of returning to shows, Dennis is more enthusiastic about revisiting Outnumbered \u2013 the BBC One semi-improvised comedy in which he played London dad Pete Brockman trying to raise his unruly three children with wife Sue (played by Claire Skinner, who is reportedly now his partner).<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to do Outumbered in whatever form,\u201d he says. \u201cIn my head, I think we could do it the other way around and [the children] have to look after us.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019re not quite old enough yet. I really loved doing that show, indeed I\u2019ve enjoyed doing almost everything I\u2019ve done, but no, I\u2019d very happily do more Outnumbered.\u201d<\/p>\n As we say our goodbyes, Dennis is expecting a call from Mock the Week to reveal the topics up for ridicule in the upcoming episode, and as for what fans can expect from the finale, he\u2019s in the dark about the details. However he can promise one thing: \u201cWhat I will tell you is it will mention Liz Truss.\u201d<\/p>\n Mock the Week airs on BBC Two at 10pm on Friday 21st October. If you\u2019re looking for more to watch, check out our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our\u00a0Comedy<\/a>\u00a0hub.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>subscribe now<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/body><\/html>\n By Lauren Morris Published: Friday, 21 October 2022 at 12:00 am It\u2019s hard to believe that after 17 years, Mock the Week airs its final regular episode tonight (20th October). The panel show quickly became a treasured part of the BBC Two furniture after first airing in 2005, and during its run has seen two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24311,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/hugh-dennis-on-mock-the-week-ending-and-his-hopes-for-an-outnumbered-revival.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/hugh-dennis-on-mock-the-week-ending-and-his-hopes-for-an-outnumbered-revival-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/hugh-dennis-on-mock-the-week-ending-and-his-hopes-for-an-outnumbered-revival-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/hugh-dennis-on-mock-the-week-ending-and-his-hopes-for-an-outnumbered-revival.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/hugh-dennis-on-mock-the-week-ending-and-his-hopes-for-an-outnumbered-revival.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/hugh-dennis-on-mock-the-week-ending-and-his-hopes-for-an-outnumbered-revival.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/10\/hugh-dennis-on-mock-the-week-ending-and-his-hopes-for-an-outnumbered-revival.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 Lauren Morris Published: Friday, 21 October 2022 at 12:00 am It\u2019s hard to believe that after 17 years, Mock the Week airs its final regular episode tonight (20th October). The panel show quickly became a treasured part of the BBC Two furniture after first airing in 2005, and during its run has seen two…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/24310"}],"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\/24311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/11\/18104944-high_res-mock-the-week-s19-4318a13.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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