Election special... but on iPlayer only

Frankie Boyle is to host a new BBC comedy show about the election.

His Election Autopsy will be released on May 16, ten days after polling day, and be similar in format to a Scottish referendum show he hosted last year.

And like the previous show, this will be available online via iPlayer only.

It will be recorded in front of a live audience in Wilton's Music Hall in London and will feature comedians and experts as guests.

The BBC says that Boyle will 'make a series of bold and often outrageous statements' to be challenged by the other contributors.

Boyle has barely been seen on the BBC since leaving Mock The Week in 2009 – with a stand-up set he performed at the O2 for the BBC Three fundraiser Give It Up For Comic Relief dropped from the broadcast in 2013. He wrote a Radio 4 comedy, Blocked, last year, which also caused controversy, and appeared in an iPlayer short spoofing cookery shows alongside Bob Mortimer.

But his Scottish Referendum Autopsy was a hit, attracting more than 715,000 iPlayer downloads.

The Election Autopsy, to be produced by Zeppotron, is part of a raft of new shows commissioned for the iPlayer, including Matt Berry Does.., which Chortle reported on yesterday and a private view of Grayson Perry's exhibition at Turner Contemporary hosted by Jo Brand.

There will also be a series of comedy shorts starring Muslim comedians, including Tez Ilyas and Guzzy Bear aka Mobeen. The series is provisionally called Fast Cuts and will be made by production company Baby Cow with BBC Asian Network and the BBC Writers Room, although full details of the comics involved have not yet been revealed.

The BBC also confirmed that Funny Valentines would be making a comeback in 2016, after this year's batch - featuring Bill Bailey, Romesh Ranganathan, Sara Pascoe, Limmy and Nick Helm - attracted 1.3million views across all the shorts.

Victoria Jaye, head of TV content for the iPlayer, said: 'iPlayer is fast becoming one of the most exciting places for British writers, artists and film-makers to create ambitious new work. With requests for iPlayer exclusive content more than tripling in the last year, audiences are recognising BBC iPlayer as more than just a catch-up service.'

Published: 23 Mar 2015