'They're scraping the barrel'

Vic Reeves has launched an all-out attack on the state of comedy - and of Saturday night TV.

The comic said: "Some of the current Saturday night shows shouldn't be on television. I don't know how they get away with it. There's Friends like These with Ian Wright, which is the sort of entertainment you get at an old people's home.

"There has to be something more inventive than that, or making pots on Generation Game. I'm not willing to say it's total crap because I might meet Bruce Forsyth.

"There's a dearth of good stuff. I like to test the limits, bend the boundaries. We've seen our material copied in a weaker form on Noel's House Party."

Reeves - who has contributed to Saturday night TV with Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Familes At War ­ also bemoaned the state of British TV comedy in the Radio Times interview.

"I was at the Comedy Awards last month and realised they were scraping the barrel. Cold Feet is good, but not comedy. It's very miserable."

Published: 14 Jan 2002