Anger at comedy commissioning

Adrian Edmondson has criticised BBC comedy bosses for being indecisive ‘wankers’.

The former Young Ones star claimed many people gave up on comedy shows because it had become ‘too gruelling’ to get anything on air.

In an interview with the Digital Spy website, he said: ‘TV scripted comedy is so hard to get on that it's almost pointless trying. There's only one channel that make it and that's the BBC. And they are full of wankers.

‘They are the biggest non-decision makers in the world. Some of them are very nice people, but they haven't thought of even saying “no” to anything. A “no” is better than an “mmmm”.

"They don't understand the creative process. I know lots of people who have given up submitting stuff because it's just too gruelling.’

He also criticised the reliance on panel shows – which he said involved ‘a lot of people being witty, but not much comedy’.

‘There's nothing wrong with panel shows – they're light and frothy,’ he said. ‘But they're not meaningful comedy. You don't think, “Oh I must watch this”... You don't want the box set of 8 Out Of 10 Cats do you?’

He also claimed that budgets were so tight Jack Dee had been told that one episode of Lead Balloon could only feature two characters to save money.

Edmondson is currently presenting the daytime ITV1 travel show Ade In Britain.

Published: 17 Nov 2011