Jimmy Carr to host Channel 4 programme about free expression
- Art Trouble is a forthcoming Channel 4 programme looking at freedom of expression
- Jimmy Carr will host the 75-minute programme amidst the current climate of widespread "cancel culture"
- The show will offer a "profoundly provocative exploration of the limits of free expression in art"
Jimmy Carr is to host Art Trouble, a one-off Channel 4 show that explores "the limits of free expression in art".
Billed as "an arts event like no other", the 75-minute programme from production company Clear Story is described as taking a "profoundly provocative exploration of the limits of free expression in art" and "whether we can separate the moral calibre of the artist from the value of their work".
The programme will "combine stunts, surprises and special guests with a public experiment conducted by well-known artists across Britain", and also celebrates what Channel 4 says are its "disruptive roots by exploring the boundary between controversial art and freedom of expression".
Jimmy Carr is currently hosting 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown on Channel 4, and is also set to return to the network with a second series of comic game show I Literally Just Told You. At the start of the year he faced backlash about jokes he made focused on the travelling community and the Holocaust in his Netflix special His Dark Material.
Art Trouble is one of a number of commissions announced by Channel 4 today for a strand celebrating the broadcaster's 40th anniversary in November, called Truth Or Dare. Other commissions include Frankie Boyle focusing on the monarchy, the return of Friday Night Live and Prince Andrew: The Musical.
Channel 4's Ian Katz says: "This season shows that Channel 4 is still as mischievous, disruptive and distinctive as when it was born 40 years ago. Instead of a nostalgia-thon of highlights from the last four decades, we are celebrating with a collection of irreverent, thought-provoking and hugely entertaining shows that no other broadcaster would air. If we must age, we plan to do it disgracefully."