Bill Bailey says he was 'sidelined' from Buzzcocks
Bill Bailey has accused the BBC of treating comedy stars with 'contempt' after the corporation effectively sidelined him from Never Mind The Buzzcocks after 11 series of service by shifting the recording dates so that they clashed with his stand-up tour.
Talking to Digital Spy, the stand-up star said: "To be honest, I was basically sidelined from the show. Buzzcocks normally records in October and the BBC moved the recordings forward two months and so it clashed with a lot of stuff I'd already booked. I'd had a tour of Australia, an orchestra tour and a West End run. They said, 'Could you just cancel them?'"
He added: "I thought, how utterly contemptuous do the BBC treat their artists? Thinking I'm sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. You've got to get on with things. How rude are you to just assume I'm going to knock these things on the head? I said, 'I can't do it - I can't cancel these shows'. They said, 'How many can you do?', and I could do 7 or 8 out of 12 or something and they said, 'Well that's not enough', and I said, 'Well there you go'."
Bill Bailey joined BBC Two's pop quiz in 2002, taking over a team captain role from Sean Hughes. He remained on the show until the 21st series, which was broadcast from November 2007 to February 2008, with Noel Fielding standing in for Bailey in the three episodes he couldn't make. In September 2008 the BBC announced that Bailey would not return to the show, and a series of guest team captains were booked in his place. Noel Fielding then took over as the permanent new team captain for Series 23 in 2009.
To read the full interview, in which Bailey talks about other topics, including TV talent shows and his new stand-up show Dandelion Mind, see Digital Spy
Never Mind The Buzzcocks has been the subject of many headlines this year, with the most recent story being the revelation that Phill Jupitus, the other long-standing team captain, almost quit the show in 2008 due to ex-host Simon Amstell's verbal attacks on guests. (Full Story)
Series 24 of Never Mind The Buzzcocks is currently being broadcast, with DJ Tim Westwood hosting tonight's episode. Bill Bailey's new DVD Dandelion Mind is out now in shops and online. Buy