Phill Jupitus almost quit Buzzcocks because of Simon Amstell
Phill Jupitus, who has been a team captain on BBC Two's music-based comedy panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks since its inception in 1996, has revealed he almost quit the show in 2008 due to former host Simon Amstell's verbal attacks on guests.
Speaking to The Guardian about his new book, the comedian said he considered leaving the show because he was unhappy with the direction it was taking under new host Simon Amstell, who had replaced the original presenter Mark Lamarr.
He said: "It struck me with Simon that people were being booked especially to have the piss taken out of them in a very overt fashion. Mark didn't book people to rag on them, it was just in the flow of the show that people suddenly went a bit weird and Mark could turn on them. It became something else with Simon and started to get a bit wearing."
However, Amstell quit the panel show in 2009 as he wanted to work on other projects, so Jupitus decided to stay on with the format changed so that there is now a different guest host each week.
The next series of Never Mind The Buzzcocks is expected to begin in September, whilst Simon Amstell's new sitcom Grandma's House begins tonight.