BBC, Tories, And Mash Reincarnation

Governments have been getting it in the neck from comedy shows, and individual satirists, on a more or less regular basis since the short but heady time of TW3 in the early 1960s. That includes all Governments, whoever the majority party. It is a fact that many out there on the right would prefer not to take on board, such is their uniform humourlessness.

Nish Kumar is bereft at his cancellation ...

Which brings us to the new dispensation at the BBC, in the form of DG Tim Davie, who was recently credited with axing The Mash Report, which, in the right-wing press’ retelling, was some ghastly hotbed of Rotten Lefties™ which said lots of horrible (if true) things about their political heroes, and to cap it all, was not even funny, honestly.

It had nothing to do with host Nish Kumar not being white, you understand, and nothing at all to do with contributor Rachel Parris mocking former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan for the latter’s sycophantic brown-nosing of Combover Crybaby Donald Trump. And nothing to do with Ms Parris calling out sexism and misogyny.

... and so is Rachel Parris

And what wound the right-leaning part of our free and fearless press up yet more was the suggestion not only that the Mash Report would see a new series commissioned, even in the face of all that knocking copy, but that the Beeb was considering running two editions of the show every week. But then, all the attacks paid off, and the show was canned.

The Murdoch mafiosi were in a state of rapture, with the Sun sneering “BBC director general Tim Davie axes Nish Kumar’s The Mash Report in victory in his war against woke lefties … Sources close to the director-general said he felt the genre needed a radical overhaul as it was too biased against the Tories and Brexit”. There was more.

From the bowels of the Northcliffe House bunker (well, the Rothermere press is full of crap, innit?), the Daily Mail thundered “BBC bosses finally address left-wing bias: The Mash Report is axed as new director-general overhauls comedy output after saying corporation must have 'no assumed point of view’”. Yeah, boo Mash Report!

But then, but then … only a few days after news of the show’s cancellation, free sheet Metro told its readers “The Mash Report could be revived as the satirical format is reportedly being eyed up by the channel Dave after being cancelled by BBC2”. Also, “Another insider added that it would be a ‘great fit’ for Dave: ‘As Dave tries to be less male-dominated and broaden its audience demographic, The Mash Report would be excellent for its diversity. Plus it is very funny’”. And so it came to pass.

The London Economic told last week “TV channel Dave has picked up Nish Kumar’s The Mash Report after it was axed by the BBC, for apparent ‘left-wing bias’ … The show will air on Dave later this year”. Early next month, to be more precise. So the BBC has sacrificed a popular show to appease the right-wing press. Or has it?

Well, of course it has, because Dave is owned by UKTV, isn’t it? Yes it is. But UKTV, has, since April 2019, been wholly owned by … BBC Studios, which was formerly called BBC Worldwide, and which is the commercial arm of the BBC. Which means the Mash Report is good enough to make money - as long as it doesn’t frighten too many right wingers.

Our free and fearless press scored a notable victory. Sadly, it was merely a Pyrrhic one.

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