New UK channel launches on Sky today

British-African comedians are to be showcased on a new TV comedy programme.

The show, Number 6, will go out on the new African entertainment channel Yanga, which launches today.

Described as ‘free-spirited’, the show will be hosted by Londoner Mansour Bellow, previously a presenter on music channel AfroBeat360.

The first show airs at 9pm this Friday, recorded at London's Top Secret Comedy Club.

Speaking in Cannes last year, Bellow said: ‘Sometimes a TV channel will repeat the same thing six times in one day. But  we really want to deliver quality that Africans can be proud of.’

The broadcaster says his show will be ‘welcoming some of the most popular Afro-brits black comedians’ around. Eddie Kadi, Kojo, Kane Brown, Will E, Felicity Ethnic and Babatunde are among those already lined up to appear.

A spokesman said: ‘Yanga are bridging a huge gap in British television, as there currently aren’t any African TV channels in the UK which ingeniously develop original content to and focus and mirror Afro-Brit society.

‘Over the years, people have experienced African TV through low budget studios, poor quality cameras and questionable narratives. A lot of the what was shown had been old shows from Africa of mediocre standards. 

‘Yanga have recruited some of the best African talent in the UK as well as top-notch producers.’

Yanga, which is Nigerian slang for being confident, is on Sky channel 293.

Here’s a clip of Bellow on AfroBeat360:

Published: 5 Mar 2018