Comedian Dara Ó Briain has blasted Brexit, saying the UK’s divorce from the European Union has failed to deliver “any benefits”.
Speaking to the Guardian, the host of Mock the Week, which is to end on BBC Two after 17 years, took aim at rightwing critics who criticised the show for only having one opinion on Brexit.
“People got angry that there weren’t enough ‘rightwing jokes’, whatever they are, and seemed surprisingly uncalmed by my regular response that if they wanted different jokes they should just write them themselves and go on stage, because the nursery slopes of comedy are a pretty free market, and we’ll see them after they’ve done a few years on the circuit,” Ó Briain said.
“This did not seem to make people happy as a response, even though it was exactly the kind of ‘pull yourself up by the bootstraps’ advice that rightwing types love to give.”
He added: “Brexit was a terrible idea, that has never delivered any benefits, and unlike politicians I’m not obliged to pretend it’s not a terrible idea, and while I’m generally really dubious of trying to see collective intent in seven comedians competing for laughs, I think we got that one totally right.”
The eight episodes of Mock the Week this autumn will be the last after 21 series and more than 200 episodes of the show, which first aired in June 2005. Series regulars have included Hugh Dennis, Chris Addison, Frankie Boyle, Rory Bremner and Russell Howard.
The show has also been credited with being a platform for comedians who have gone on to become household names, with Michael McIntyre, Sarah Millican, Kevin Bridges, John Bishop and Rhod Gilbert all featuring in the early stages of their careers.
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