Good riddance to The Mash Report – the BBC needs comedy with guts

The BBC Two topical news show, The Mash Report, will not be returning for its fifth series. Speaking about the decision to axe the show, a BBC spokesman said that “…we sometimes have to make difficult decisions and it won’t be returning.”

Even for a corporation as institutionally woke as the BBC, The Mash Report managed to reach a whole new level of self-righteousness and the smuggery was off the charts. Featuring Nish Kumar as the head anchor, the programme presented itself as a spoof, satirical news show. The first series was less political and more culturally critical – coming across like a poor man’s The Day Today.

But it didn’t last long. Over the show’s next three series, it developed into an all out attack on anyone right of centre. Tory-bashing became its raison d’être. Kumar’s protracted monologues were hard going, once comparing Brexit to soiling oneself. I know, topical, hilarious and brave, right? Whilst co-presenter Rachel Parris’s rancorous attacks on the supposed “toxic masculinity” of white males were cringe-worthy.

BBC comedy has slowly morphed into progressive political posturing. Sure, comedy is subjective, but shouldn’t the market value be laughter? The problem with many of these BBC shows is that they’re not even remotely funny. Don’t just take my word for it, judge the response of the audience. Often the audience engages in “clapter” a phenomenon signalling your approval more than appreciation of a clever punchline. The Mash Report was a prime example of this “clapter” comedy. For many aspiring BBC comedians the message is clear – hate the Tories and you’ll be given a seat at the table.

It’s a cliche, yes, but the show lacked balance. It once dedicated almost five minutes of an episode (a quarter of its show) to denigrating Jacob Rees-Mogg and his Catholic values. Sure, go for it; no one should be off limits. Admittedly it was not very funny, but I find it hard to find as much commitment put into attacking Labour.

Balance is always good, especially in comedy. There was a time when the BBC understood this. A truly excellent example of how to satirically take on government came with The Thick Of It, whichattacked from all sides. The problem is you need to go back a long way to find great shows like this – it first aired in 2005.

In reaction to the show being axed, Kumar tweeted an image of himself in front of a sign saying: ‘Boris Johnson Is a liar and a racist’. The tweet says it all really. Light on laughs, heavy on virtue-signalling. Comedy is best when it takes chances and pushes boundaries. Kumar’s response was not controversial or brave, it is the sort of thing a five year old would do.

For all it’s inherent flaws, The Mash Report wasn’t always dire. Brief respite from the woke onslaught was offered by Geoff Norcott. Norcott is a rare breed. Not only is the BBC comic funny, but his refusal to adopt the woke ideology and tow the social justice warrior line meant I tuned in just to watch him. Norcott played the “ordinary man”, confused and fed up with political correctness – often skewering the identity politics nonsense regularly spouted by Kumar. Norcott’s rants often left the studio audience howling with laughter – proving progressive politics is not a prerequisite for popular comedy.

LBC’s James O’Brien took to Twitter to argue that this was a “stone cold example of what ‘cancel culture’ looks like.” This is not the case. There was no outrage. There were no centre-right Twitter mob calling for its termination. Dwindling audience figures were perhaps a better reason for the show’s cancellation. Although this does present a blessing in disguise for the new Director General, Tim Davie, who will want to placate his critics who view the corporation as fundamentally woke. Since he took over the reins, Davie has been keen to signal the institution’s commitment to “impartiality”.

In explaining the corporation’s decision to end the show, the BBC said it wished to “make room for new comedy shows”. I have an idea – have some guts and air someone from the political centre. Comedy works when we are all attacked and offended. Something I feel the BBC doesn’t understand.

Now let’s give Geoff Norcott his own stand-up show.