BBC cancels David Baddiel show following Queen sex life jokes
The BBC has cancelled a show fronted by comedian David Baddiel following a wave of complaints over jokes about the Queen’s sex life.
David Baddiel
A episode of the BBC Radio 4 show Don’t Make Me Laugh, which aired at 6:30pm on the day of the Queen’s 90th birthday, came under fire after Baddiel and a number of panelists including Russell Kane made sex jokes about the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The topic of the pre-recorded show was titled “The Queen must have had sex at least four times” and received more than 120 complaints.
The BBC Trust, the governing body for the corporation, ruled that the panelists’ comments were “personal, intrusive and demeaning”.
Baddiel apologised for the particular section of the show and added that it was never meant to air on the Queen’s birthday but the following week.
While the BBC has decided to cancel the show it remains open to working with Baddiel in future projects and maintains that the decision to drop the show was not based on the ruling.
A spokeswoman for BBC Radio 4 said: "We’re lucky to receive hundreds of great ideas from brilliant comedians who want to work with Radio 4, and we always bring a mix of returning shows to our audiences whilst also finding space for new programmes in our packed schedule."
“This means not all shows get recommissioned as otherwise it would be impossible to try out fresh formats and ideas.”