...says Russell Howard

Russell Howard has accused broadcasters of ‘censoring’ comedy during the Olympics.

He claimed that too much money had been invested in the Games to allow stand-ups to poke fun at the events.

He said there was ‘no comedy on during the Oympics’ and added: ‘I was quite upset really.’

Howard told entertainment website Digital Spy: ‘There's too much money in it. The powers that be didn't want people making jokes about the Olympics, it's too important apparently.

‘We'd have made jokes about the Olympics in the same way as we always do. It would have been a light touch and we'd have only touched on things that were genuinely funny like Boris on the zip wire, the Queen during the Opening Ceremony with the most bored face ever.

‘But nobody ever commented on these things because of a weird censorship.’

The BBC cleared much of its schedules over the summer to make way for the Olympics, meaning most comedy programmes were absence from the schedules. Mock the Week was on its usual hiatus, while BBC Three – which airs Howard’s own Good News show – was dedicated to sport for the duration of the Games.

However, before the Olympics, the sitcom Twenty Twelve covered the chaotic fictional build-up, and jokes did get on to radio: over the summer six episodes of special Now Shows themed around the Games aired on Radio 4.

Russell Howard’s Good News returns to BBC Three tomorrow.

Published: 26 Sep 2012