Mock The Week cancelled after 17 years to ‘create room for new shows’ with final episodes in Autumn

Mock The Week has been cancelled after 17 years on air in order to ‘create room for new shows’, it was announced on Tuesday. 

The comedy series hosted by Dara O’Briain, first aired on BBC Two in 2005 but it has been confirmed that the eight episodes set to air this autumn will be the last. 

Viewers have seen more than 200 episodes over 21 series’ and a variety of personalities on the panel including Hugh Dennis, Chris Addison, Frankie Boyle, Rory Bremner and Russell Howard. 

The panel show sees two teams of three compete to make the best jokes about current affairs but Dara confirmed that the news was already ‘silly.’

The host said: ‘That’s it folks, the UK has finally run out of news. The storylines were getting crazier and crazier – global pandemics, divorce from Europe, novelty short-term prime ministers. It couldn’t go on.

‘And so, regretfully, we are closing the doors on Dara and Hugh’s Academy for Baby Comedians. We just couldn’t be more silly than the news was already.’

Ending: The comedy series hosted by Dara O’Briain, first aired on BBC Two in 2005 with fans seeing more than 200 episodes over 21 series’

He concluded: ‘Huge thanks to all our guests over the years, so many of whom went on to huge successes of their own, and never write or call. It was a joy!’

A statement by the BBC confirmed: ‘The next series of Mock The Week will be the last, we are really proud of the show but after 21 series we have taken the difficult decision in order to create room for new shows.

‘We would like to thank Angst Productions, host Dara O’Briain, panellist Hugh Dennis and all the guest comedians involved in the show across the 21 series.’

‘Silly news’: Dara said: ‘That’s it folks, the UK has finally run out of news. The storylines were getting crazier and crazier… it couldn’t go on’ (Hugh Dennis and Dara pictured)

Angst Productions, the company behind the programme, said: ‘We’re naturally hugely disappointed that Mock The Week is coming to an end and hope that we will be able to resurface somewhere some day in the future.

‘However, the last 17 years on BBC Two have been an absolute blast. It’s been a great privilege to work closely with scores of truly incredible performers and we’d also like to take the opportunity to thank the BBC and all our many fans around the world for their support over the years.’

The series was created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, the duo behind comedy improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which ran in the UK before becoming a hit series in the United States.

Mock The Week’s final episodes will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer this autumn. 

Over and out: A statement by the BBC confirmed: ‘We are really proud of the show but after 21 series we have taken the difficult decision in order to create room for new shows’