The IT Crowd

Matt Berry comments on transphobic IT Crowd episode

In an interview with Vulture, Berry denounced the episode: "I don't condone anything that that comedy portrayed, you know? I don't share any views that the writer has."

IT Crowd: the controversial episode that killed series

While some fans look back fondly on the show's best episodes, the ugly transphobia at the heart of "The Speech" has tainted its legacy in the eyes of many.

Linehan won't work with C4 unless they show IT Crowd ep

Graham Linehan says that he won't work with Channel 4 again until they "reinstate" a transphobic episode of The IT Crowd. The Irish writer, who also created Father Ted and Black Books, wrote the season three episode "The Speech", which is currently unable to stream on Channel 4's website.

Episode 3.4 Review

A good, solid episode all round. Once again, this was far funnier after the advert break than before it, which is quite common for IT Crowd's set-up and pay-off style.

Whenever he appears, playboy boss Douglas Reynholm threatens to take over this sitcom and make it his. Matt Berry's barnstorming performance as Douglas is entirely in tune with Graham Linehan's writing: it's daft but so confidently, riotously daft that you can't help wanting to know where it leads. If there's a drawback, it's that Linehan's ideas can be more brilliant than his plotting.

I've said before that this is not the greatest sitcom in the world, but it's better than a lot of the rubbish that's been slarted out in the name of the comedy over the last year. Parents of the Band, anybody? Shudder. Tonight, Matt Berry steals the show once again as Douglas, the sleazy boss of the company as he's interviewed by a journalist. Those three in the basement do some stuff too.