The Last Leg

The Last Leg: often tasteless & awkward, alway funny

Adam Hills' irreverent nightly Paralympics roundup on Channel 4 has found exactly the right brand of edgy humour to break down barriers over disability.

Unfunny and uncomfortable: The Last Leg reviewed

Channel 4's new late-night Paralympic show is an attempt by the broadcaster to promote acceptance of disability, but is the nature of it's delivery having the opposite affect the producers envisaged?

C4 criticised as show asks if it is OK to hit disabled

The Last Leg, a comedy show covering the London Paralympic Games, includes a segment called 'Is it OK', in which viewers tweet in questions about disability that may be deemed socially unacceptable. One tweet that appeared on screen said: "Is it OK to hit a disabled person if he's being a nob."

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The Last Leg with Adam Hills is something of a high-risk venture, and the comedian fronting it reminds us frequently that he has a prosthetic leg, giving him licence to crack jokes that most of us wouldn't dream of.

The fact that he's an Australian helps - no one expects him to be subtle. "You will say the wrong thing," he said in the first show. "Don't worry." Then he went on to ponder whether in the equestrian events it should be the horse rather than the rider that is disabled.

Rather more edgy was the contribution of Josh Widdicombe, a vaguely recognisable comic who has no disabilities. His report on the day's events included an item on how horses defecating in the arena was supposed to be beneficial to their performance. If horses are to be the focus of attention at these Games, then someone in the production department has got the wrong idea. No wonder that Balding is anchoring the coverage.

But it's not quite as wrong as Widdicombe's jokes about how the weightlifters don't have to lift the weights very high. Joshing Josh may have to raise his game a little - or they may as well go for his namesake Ann. Or Frankie Boyle.

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