The Mash Report to return on Dave
- Topical TV comedy format The Mash Report is to return on channel Dave as Late Night Mash
- Nish Kumar, Rachel Parris, Ellie Taylor, Steve N Allen and Geoff Norcott will return
- There'll be 8 new episodes, each an hour-long. Kumar says: "Mash is rising from the dead"
Channel Dave is reviving topical TV format The Mash Report.
The show will now be called Late Night Mash, with eight new hour-long episodes set to be filmed.
Nish Kumar will return as host, with Rachel Parris and newsreaders Ellie Taylor and Steve N Allen also confirmed as amongst the stars transferring to the new version.
UKTV - which runs Dave - says: "Each week, Late Night Mash will tap into the latest that the zeitgeist has to offer, with up-to-the-minute topical insights and fake news reports.
"Late Night Mash will comprise eight brand new episodes and a ninth episode compiling the best moments from the series.
"Late Night Mash is a continuation of the successful show The Mash Report, which aired on BBC Two for four series, and will feature Kumar and a team of comics, including the returning Rachel Parris, Ellie Taylor, Geoff Norcott and Steve N Allen."
BBC Two cancelled the show in March, saying the decision was "in order to make room for new comedy shows". However, many media outlets speculated it was too "left wing" to fit with new BBC Director-General Tim Davie's desire for more political balance across the corporation's channels, although The Mash Report team have always argued that they have no bias and tackle targets from all areas of the political spectrum.
Dave will be hoping the format can continue to deliver viral clip success. A number of segments from the BBC Two version went viral, delivering hundreds of millions of impressions for the BBC's social media channels.
Talking about returning, Nish Kumar says: "Mash is rising from the dead. I'm not saying I'm Jesus, I just look more like him than most images would have you believe."
Commissioner Mark Iddon comments: "Mash Lives! We couldn't be happier to be working with Nish and the rest of the team over at Zeppotron. Mash has always been a show that has taken risks and brought top comedy talent to our screens. It's relevant, reactive and we can't think of a better new home for the show than Dave."
Cherie Cunningham from Dave adds: "Dave viewers love nothing more than the quick wit of the best comedians in the country and I know the topical nature of this show will really resonate as we watch Nish and the team grapple with the latest sensations, headlines and online chatter."
Executive producer Chris Stott comments: "The last eighteen months has been a worrying and stressful time for millions of Britons, mainly because they were unsure if Mash would ever return to our screens. But it has, so everything's fine again."
Late Night Mash will air on Dave this autumn.