By that he presumably means television studios and hotel function rooms rather than the great outdoors, given that Outsiders is designed to highlight the complete impracticality of life in the wilderness. The brand new show sees three pairs of comedians camping together for a week and completing a series of survival challenges to determine how they would fare in a post-apocalyptic future. Excelling at a task earns the team a scout-like badge from Mitchell, who gets full authority over judging their efforts, with the most decorated duo at the end of the series claiming an overall victory.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a level of untempered power that Greg Davies has grown accustomed to wielding on Dave\u2019s former flagship title Taskmaster<\/a>, which made a big move to Channel 4 last year. Despite obvious conceptual differences, comparisons between the two shows are inevitable and so the Outsiders team were conscious not to bring them any \u201ccloser together\u201d. For Mitchell, that meant leaning into his own distinct style of hosting as opposed to taking notes from his co-star in The Cleaner<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGreg Davies is a very funny man but I don\u2019t think he was my inspiration as a judge, because I couldn\u2019t do that,\u201d he tells RadioTimes.com<\/a>.<\/strong> \u201cHe\u2019s very funny being the strong, fearless, arbitrary authority figure and that\u2019s just not my persona. I pretty much tried to take my role as chairman on The Unbelievable Truth on Radio 4 as my starting point; a slightly befuddled, irascible and indecisive leader rather than the guillotine slice of Greg Davies on Taskmaster.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The teams on the first series of Outsiders include Toussaint Douglass and Kerry Godliman, the latter being one of three Taskmaster champions alongside \u201ctroubled woman\u201d Lou Sanders and \u201crespectful young man\u201d <\/span>Ed Gamble. Rounding out the line-up is Jessica Knappett and Jamali Maddix, who Mitchell believes could chop down a tree with his bare hands after an impressive display in the first episode. But it isn\u2019t just physical tests that the comics will be put through, as they also take on more thoughtful challenges concerned with keeping spirits up after the end times \u2013 in fact, those proved to be some of Mitchell\u2019s favourites.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was very pleased that we had the morale side of it because I think it gives people an opportunity to be funny thinking of anthems and mottos and flags and that sort of thing,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut also, it amuses me because it\u2019s quite a dark reflection on the morale boosting symbolism that a post-apocalyptic society might grab for. <\/span>There\u2019s one point where Jess and Jamali make a flag and they put a knife and fork on it because food is important. That, for me, is darkly funny; the idea of a collapsed society that\u2019s got the symbols of a knife and fork on their flag but everyone\u2019s just eating with their hands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n For Peep Show<\/a> aficionados (a title I do award myself), Outsiders may bring to mind an iconic line from the sitcom\u2019s third series, in which Mark Corrigan scolds a free-spirited raver with the remark: \u201cIt\u2019s only the miracle of consumer capitalism that means you\u2019re not lying in your own s**t, dying at 43 with rotten teeth.\u201d Reciting the quote brings a smile to Mitchell\u2019s face, who names it as one of his favourite lines from the acclaimed series, and agrees that it is consistent with the general message behind Outsiders.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that was definitely a thing that Sam [Bain] and Jesse [Armstrong] took from me,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I took quite as establishmentarian a line as Mark Corrigan, but in the battle between going along with how things have been traditionally structured versus just throwing it all away and \u2018vibing it\u2019 \u2013 which would be the classic Mark\/Jeremy dialogue \u2013 I am naturally on the former side. I think Robert Webb<\/a> is too, actually. But yeah, I think there\u2019s definitely a link there [with Outsiders]. I\u2019m all for questioning everything, but then you have to question the questions as well \u2013 and some of the answers are going to be \u2018we were right the first time\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While it\u2019s been off the air for almost six years now, Peep Show is more popular than ever before with dedicated followers congregating on social media to share memes inspired by its stellar nine series run. Meanwhile, as a popular title on several streaming services, the sitcom continues to find new fans \u2013 some of whom are seemingly unaware of its legendary reputation.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if this is true, but somebody told me a Channel 4 executive\u2019s teenage son had said they were watching this new Netflix<\/a> show, Peep Show, and \u2018why doesn\u2019t Channel 4 make something like that?\u2019 It\u2019s too beautifully unfair to be true, but anyway, I heard that,\u201d says Mitchell. \u201cI\u2019m proud of the show and I\u2019m proud that we made quite a lot of it. The more people that can keep discovering it, the better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n On the comedy\u2019s lasting legacy, he continues: \u201cI think Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong are the best comedy writers of their generation and they worked so hard on it. They were just relentless and rigorous in terms of slimming down the plot and gagging up the scenes and it\u2019s just real high quality writing. It was a privilege to say it. I think that\u2019s why it stands up. <\/span>Good comedy is about real and not necessarily light things. Good sitcoms are about failure and darkness and fear and loneliness and things that aren\u2019t in themselves funny.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Despite glowing reviews and two BAFTA wins, Peep Show had a relatively small audience across its run and that meant the prospect of cancellation never felt too far away. Back in 2006, the BBC\u2019s comedy blog<\/a> reported that the critical darling was \u201cfacing the axe\u201d after just three series, but fortunately it pushed through to become the longest running sitcom in Channel 4 history. Pulling the plug would have been a short-sighted move, says Mitchell, who compares sitcoms to novels in how they are discovered over many years, but nevertheless he and his Peep Show collaborators always feared the worst would happen.<\/p>\n \u201cSitcoms are expensive and not many people watch them \u2013 that\u2019s a terrible truth \u2013 and so after every series, we kind of half expected to be cancelled,\u201d he reveals. \u201cThere were a couple of times later on where Channel 4 commissioned two series so those were the only times when we weren\u2019t fully prepared for it to finish. We got lucky several times and then it was really nice that when we did finish, it was our decision. We\u2019re too old to play men at that stage of their lives now, and so by mutual consent the line was drawn underneath it, which meant we could have that last series knowing that it was going to be the last one.\u201d<\/span><\/p> Mitchell has been a regular face on Channel 4 over the past two decades, with Peep Show, 10 O\u2019Clock Live and, most recently, Simon Blackwell\u2019s Back<\/a> among his projects for the broadcaster, not to mention his guest appearances on several of its popular entertainment programmes. Controversially, the government is currently exploring plans to privatise the channel, with Oliver Dowden MP insisting that such a move would help grow its reach. However, Channel 4 itself has warned this course of action will \u201charm\u201d audiences, while the likes of Sir David Attenborough and Armando Iannucci have also forcefully hit back against the idea.<\/p>\n Mitchell joins them in their opposition: \u201cI don\u2019t see what the justification for privatising it is. It\u2019s a very successful publicly-owned institution. It doesn\u2019t want to be privatised. It works very well. The reason for privatising it is purely government Thatcherite ideology and it\u2019s not to be improved by that but almost certainly worsened by that. I know exactly why they\u2019re doing it, but I don\u2019t think it makes any sense and it\u2019s not in the public interest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The BBC is facing similar uncertainty as it strives to find \u00a3408 million in \u201cscope\u201d cuts by next March, which could mean difficult decisions being made on its original content \u2013 and that is unlikely to be the end of it. Several members of the government have been critical of the licence fee model, including newly appointed culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who considers it to be \u201ca completely outdated concept that totally fails to take into account changes in the media environment over the past 50 years,\u201d as written on her blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n That will be a concern to those in favour of the BBC and its financing method, with Mitchell making a case for the broadcaster on Have I Got News For You earlier this year when the Martin Bashir scandal dominated headlines. Raising the matter with him again, his passion for the issue is palpable. He argues that cuts have forced the BBC to \u201cretreat\u201d around its news division \u2013 which he acknowledges is \u201cvery well-respected\u201d \u2013 but adds that the institution brings much more value to viewers than just that.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thing that\u2019s amazing about the BBC is the breadth of content of different kinds and different genres that it gives the nation, and it has done that better than other national public service broadcasters because of its tradition and because of its unique funding system,\u201d he asserts. \u201c<\/span>The BBC has served Britain amazingly well as the envy of the world \u2013 watch television in other countries and it\u2019s s**t \u2013 but they\u2019re just gradually weakening it and one of the ways they weaken it is they reduce it to a news organisation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Mitchell continues: \u201cThen, that news organisation f***s up, ironically because it\u2019s trying to ape the sort of tabloid antics of other bits of the press and doesn\u2019t keep its nose clean, because neither does a tabloid for God\u2019s sake. <\/span>And then they\u2019re just doing news and they were nasty to Princess Diana and that\u2019s all the BBC is. And you go, \u2018no it isn\u2019t: what about The Archers and The Good Life and Fawlty Towers and EastEnders and Strictly Come Dancing<\/a> and all these other things?\u2019 They\u2019re just trying to make people forget how much entertainment joy to the nation comes because the BBC exists in more or less the form it always has.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSpeaking of Strictly,\u201d I say, in one of my smoothest segues of all time, Mitchell\u2019s comedy partner Robert Webb is on the celebrity line-up this year, so predictably he\u2019s planning to tune in as well as vote for the first time. After a serious health scare during production on Back series two<\/a>, his longtime friend is once again in fighting form and ready to impress the judges with professional dancer Dianne Buswell. Mitchell is confident that Webb has a \u201cvery, very good chance\u201d of lifting that coveted Glitterball trophy, having previously found success with a Flashdance homage on 2009\u2019s Let\u2019s Dance for Comic Relief.<\/span><\/p>\n Mitchell revealed that he would \u201clove\u201d to team up with Webb for another sketch show, following on from their acclaimed BBC Two project which still has a following, but conceded that the format has \u201cgone out of fashion at the moment\u201d. In its place, panel shows continue to take a prime spot on the weekly schedules with Would I Lie to You among the most popular currently on the air. After serving as panellist opposite Lee Mack for the last 14 years, there are very few revelations left to uncover, but the producers have found a way to keep things interesting.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve been very clever in that now they have sport with Lee, where they give him lies that no one could possibly sell and no one\u2019s going to believe for a second, but the joke is watching him struggle and try to keep it together for the three minutes,\u201d says Mitchell, before explaining how the well ran dry. \u201c<\/span>When I look at the early series, they over-recorded every episode as they always do, but we were just squandering truths then. There would be truths that would now be the key thing in a series that were on the cutting room floor in the first series because we didn\u2019t know how long it was going to go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He adds that he would \u201clove\u201d to see his Would I Lie to You collaborators \u2013 Lee Mack and Rob Brydon \u2013 take on the challenge of Outsiders in a future series, although he\u2019s sceptical that the latter would be willing to give up his home comforts. Mitchell himself admits that he enjoyed being the only one who could actually go home at the end of a long filming day, rather than settle in for a night of camping in the woods with his contestants. When I ask what luxury he would welcome living without, his answer comes without any hesitation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe internet. I think the internet has been a bad mistake,\u201d he states firmly. \u201cObviously, there\u2019s nothing to be done, it\u2019s all happening now and we\u2019ve got to live with it, like we have to live with nuclear weapons. But as with nuclear weapons, it\u2019d be better off if we\u2019d never come up with it\u2026 <\/span>I think it\u2019s grim and I really hope that we\u2019re going to, with the next generation, get a handle on it and essentially interact on it less because I think it\u2019s poisonous.<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhich isn\u2019t to say that there aren\u2019t some excellent websites,\u201d adds Mitchell, when he remembers which publication he\u2019s talking to, but adds that RadioTimes.com<\/strong> \u201ccould have been on lovely old Ceefax\u201d.<\/p>\n Outsiders premieres on Dave at 10pm on Wednesday 29th September. Visit our Big RT Interview<\/a> hub for more conversations with TV\u2019s biggest names, or visit our TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Mitchell hosts a new series for Dave that sees comedians take on fun challenges \u2013 but tells RadioTimes.com why he’s no Taskmaster. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":5060,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-mitchell-talks-outsiders-peep-show-and-what-makes-the-bbc-amazing.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-mitchell-talks-outsiders-peep-show-and-what-makes-the-bbc-amazing-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-mitchell-talks-outsiders-peep-show-and-what-makes-the-bbc-amazing-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-mitchell-talks-outsiders-peep-show-and-what-makes-the-bbc-amazing.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-mitchell-talks-outsiders-peep-show-and-what-makes-the-bbc-amazing.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-mitchell-talks-outsiders-peep-show-and-what-makes-the-bbc-amazing.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/david-mitchell-talks-outsiders-peep-show-and-what-makes-the-bbc-amazing.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":"Mitchell hosts a new series for Dave that sees comedians take on fun challenges \u2013 but tells RadioTimes.com why he's no Taskmaster.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/5059"}],"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\/5060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""David\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/09\/david_mitchell_outsiders-13f6cf4.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"david_mitchell_outsiders\"\\"")
<\/div>![\""Outsiders\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/09\/outsiders_line_up-0d38109.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"outsiders_line_up\"\\"")
<\/div>![\""Robert\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/09\/peepshow-1-4812744.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"strictly-come-dancing-robert-webb-dance-peep-show-newsupdate\"\\"")
<\/div>![\""BBC\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/03\/GettyImages-1197370847-009f86a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"BBC\\"")
<\/div>![\""Robert\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/09\/23091538-high_res-strictly-come-dancing-2021-611373e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"strictly-come-dancing-robert-webb-dance-peep-show-newsupdate\"\\"")
<\/div>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"