He can't show Murdoch being hit by pie

Charlie Brooker has been banned from using footage of Rupert Murdoch being hit with a custard pie in his satirical round-up of the year’s news.

The media mogul was attacked by a protester as he gave evidence at a select committee in July – but laws prevent any parliamentary footage from being shown in a comedy show.

Instead, the comedian was forced to recruit reality TV stars to re-enact the incident.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Brooker said: ‘That was a pain this year. There was a lot of great footage that we weren’t allowed to use.

‘There are rules covering footage of any parliamentary proceedings, which you are not allowed to use in any satire, or entertainment. So we can’t show anything from the House of Commons, we can’t show Murdoch being hit by a pie. They can in America...

‘We got some of the cast of Made In Chelsea to reconstruct it. I wanted to do it with a nude House of Commons, but there wasn’t the budget, or time, or, actually, I think, will.’

His 2011 Wipe – to be shown on BBC Four tonight – is not the first comedy show to be hit by the ban this year. In the summer, an episode of American satire The Daily Show was banned in the UK because it contained parliamentary footage.

More 4 was forced to drop the ‘Global Edition’ of the show, even though host Jon Stewart’ praised proceedings in the Commons, contrasting the rough and tumble of Prime Minister’s Questions with the deferential treatment of the US President.

Here is the footage of Murdoch being hit by the custard pie. Please ensure you watch it with a serious face on, not a satirical one.

Johnny Marbles – a sometime comedian whose real name is Jonathan May-Bowles – was sentenced to six weeks’ jail for the stunt.

Published: 30 Dec 2011