BBC Two to screen series of themed Mock The Week highlights shows
BBC Two is to screen Mock The Week Looks Back At..., a series of thematic highlights programmes featuring footage from the past 8 years of popular topical panel show Mock The Week.
To be screened on Sunday nights from 3rd March, each of the 10 episodes will be based on a single subject. The content of the shows has been compiled from the eleven series of Mock The Week produced to date.
For example, the first episode features material related to the topic of 'Health', giving viewers another chance to see Frankie Boyle talking about slash fiction and observe Dara O Brian revealing his curious exercise regime.
Other episodes will look at animals, education, entertainment, law and order, science and technology, travel, Britain, the Royals and food and drink.
The highlights have been compiled by Angst Productions, the company behind the popular series. Mock The Week proper will return later in the year, but this series would appear to be acting as a handy 'schedule filler' for BBC Two in the meantime.
Mock The Week was created by Whose Line Is It Anyway? producers Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson and first aired in 2005. The first series only consisted of five normal episodes due to the London bombings forcing the sixth studio recording to be cancelled. The format has since gone on to notch up over 100 episodes.
Dara O Briain has hosted every edition of the show, with the original regulars being Hugh Dennis, Frankie Boyle and Rory Bremner. Following the departure of Bremner, Andy Parsons and Russell Howard were added as official regular panellists a couple of series later. Boyle quit in 2009, whilst Chris Addison joined the show in 2011.
The show has also featured a number of notable comedians, who will also be seen performing in the highlights series. Those featured in Mock The Week Looks Back At... will include John Bishop, Jo Brand, Kevin Bridges, Ed Byrne, Micky Flanagan, Stewart Francis, Rhod Gilbert, Adam Hills, Milton Jones, Miles Jupp, Patrick Kielty, Fred MacAulay, Michael McIntyre, Sarah Millican, David Mitchell, Al Murray, Andi Osho, Frank Skinner, Jack Whitehall and Gina Yashere.
Talking about Mock The Week Looks Back At..., the show's producers say: "2102 will forever be synonymous with the Queen's Jubilee, the London Olympics and the 100th episode of BBC Two's hit satirical panel show Mock The Week. However, in an act of deference typical of the series, programme bosses resolved to grant the other two events all the limelight by deferring the spectacular retrospective the milestone warranted. Now, as 2013 hits its stride, we can finally announce the arrival this spring of the glorious Mock The Week Looks Back At...
"A team of highly specialist researchers has spent months in the Mock The Week archives, watching more DVDs than Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy and cataloguing and documenting the most hilarious, controversial and often unrepeatable highlights from 2005 to the present day. The result is ten themed half hour episodes jam-packed with near-the-knuckle quick-fire gags and off-the-cuff silliness.
"Each week Mock The Week Looks Back At... gives viewers the chance to enjoy again the collective comic power of some of the sharpest minds in stand-up comedy and re-live their take on some of the biggest news stories of the last eight years.
"Viewers can compare Dara O Briain to a sausage, thrill to Frankie Boyle describing Mock The Week slash fiction and marvel at Greg Davies's legendary Peter Andre impression. Other highlights include a return to Monsoon Poultry Hospital, Tina the Tortoise on wheels and one of Hugh Dennis's greatest Prince Philip newsreels. Also featured are Dara's chivalrous defence of Konnie Huq, Micky's love of ketchup with risotto and fitting tributes to the late Michael Jackson and the injured Richard Hammond."
A full guide to the 10 episodes can be found in BCG's guide to the new series. Mock The Week Looks Back At... will begin on Sunday 3rd March at 10pm on BBC Two.
Below is a video featuring some out-take highlights from the 2011 run of the comedy.