From the makers of The Daily Mash

BBC Two has picked up a spoof news show fronted by Nish Kumar.

The Mash Report comes from the creators of parody website The Daily Mash, and will run for ten half-hour episodes.

Channel controller Patrick Holland and entertainment commissioning boss Kate Phillip ordered the series following a successful pilot, which Chortle revealed last month.

The show appears to be the latest attempt to create a UK-version of The Daily Show or Saturday Night Live, with producers promising a satirical talk show recorded live and in front of an audience that will 'analyse the week’s events, receive correspondents and go live to the news desk, where our anchors will deliver spoof headlines, and occasionally throw to reporters "at the scene"’.’

Holland says: ‘It is whip-smart, hugely timely and driven by some great new talent.’

The Mash Report, which is still a working title, was one of several satirical shows pitched to the BBC after director of content Charlotte Moore sent out a call for topical comedy.

The others reportedly included That’s It For The Week; Live From White City and That Thing On Friday Night, which had Katherine Ryan, Sara Pascoe, and James Acaster attached and was for a long time considered the forerunner.

‘I'd like to thank all the teams who contributed to the different pilots,’ Holland added. ‘The standard was exceptionally high, but we were drawn to The Mash Report’s blend of great satire allied with the surreal. It feels really innovative."

Phillips added that all the pilots ‘delivered a great mix of terrific talent and original ideas’ but this one – to be made by Princess Productions –  offered ‘a fresh and very funny format featuring an exceptional group of writers and performers’. 

Inspired by satirical US website The Onion, The Daily Mash was founded in 2007 by former Sunday Times business correspondent Neil Rafferty and ex-Scotsman business editor Paul Stokes. It is currently edited by comedy writer and former BBC journalist Tim Telling.

Discussions about a television spin-off for have been under way since at least 2015, with Stokes telling The Independent that he was envious of the late-night television opportunities available to satirists in America. 'We sometimes feel we’re consistently snubbed by mainstream media,' he told the paper two years ago. 'But then all we do is rip the piss out of what they do.'

Chris Stott, Executive Producer at Princess Productions, said of today’s commission: ‘There has never been a better time to bring acerbic and topical comedy to the channel.’

Kumar also hosts the topical show Spotlight Tonight, which is currently running on Wednesday nights on Radio 4.

Published: 24 Mar 2017