Ben Elton defends himself

Ben Elton has defended his struggling Australian sketch show, invoking the image of Hitler to attack his critics.

Live From Planet Earth made one of the worst ratings debuts in Australian TV history last week, averaging 440,000 viewers and being slated online and in print. Although 630,00 viewers ruined into the start of the show, by the end fewer than half were still watching.

However Elton said ratings weren't everything saying: 'If numbers are what matter and first-time knee-jerk reactions are what matters, then Hitler stands vindicated.'

He added: 'I do think this idea that something has to be judged instantly sort of gladiatorial thumb up or thumb down is astonishing. You couldn’t do that to a good album, you couldn’t do that to a good film. And you can’t do that to comedy. Nothing is any good after two weeks … from Little Britain to Fawlty Towers, they’ve all taken time.'

And Elton insisted he was proud of the show, saying: 'I did some quite good political gags last week, I think.

'I hope all my gags are clever, whether they are in the trouser department or in the cerebral department and sometimes those things can be the same thing – there are clever knob gags.'

However, he admitted there may have been a 'preponderance of rudeness – and that’s an editorial mistake for which I genuinely do think I made a mistake and I’m sorry about that.'

Published: 15 Feb 2011