Mock the Week

Format

Two teams of three comedians competed over four rounds, presided over by host Dara Ó Briain. While the programme retained a quiz aspect with questions on recent news items, the focus was on comedic, satirical discussion rather than scoring. Unlike Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week had no team captains or consistent scoring system; the host decided which team won each round. BBC episodes were edited to about four rounds within a 30-minute slot, with unused material saved for compilation episodes.

Most rounds from the first two series were later dropped, leaving two primary rounds. Picture of the Week showed a news photograph; panellists gave deliberately wrong or mocking answers, with an in-joke of Hugh Dennis eventually stating the obvious answer, leading to further discussion. Wheel of News was a stand-up challenge where a reduced number of panellists (eventually two) performed routines on topics from a Random Topic Generator, introduced with a comical title referencing a recent event.

Panellists

Panellists were primarily stand-up comedians, many appearing multiple times. Hugh Dennis appeared in all BBC episodes from 2005 to 2022 except a special for David Walliams' 24 Hour Panel People. Regular panellists included Rory Bremner (Series 1 and 2), Frankie Boyle (Series 1 to 7), Andy Parsons (Series 3 to 14), Russell Howard (Series 4 to 9), and Chris Addison (Series 10 to 12). Rhys James became a regular for the TLC episodes.

Controversy and criticism

Mock the Week drew complaints for risqué comments and profanity, especially during Frankie Boyle's tenure. In Series 4, Boyle's remark about the Queen's Christmas message led to BBC director general Mark Thompson being questioned on Newsnight. In 2008, Boyle's comment about swimmer Rebecca Adlington—that she looked like someone looking at herself in a spoon—was ruled by the BBC as humiliating and risking offence, though Boyle was called a brilliant team member; Adlington's agent said a rebuke was insufficient.

After leaving, Boyle criticised the production team and BBC Trust for not covering enough major news and for restricting his act. The lack of female guests drew complaints in the Radio Times letters page. Jo Brand criticised the male-dominated panel show genre, stating she and some male stand-ups avoided the show due to its competitive atmosphere. Rory Bremner left in 2013, citing a new aggressive tendency and discomfort, and criticised how new comedians treated others like Linda Smith.

Merchandise

Three DVDs titled Mock the Week: Too Hot for TV were released by Spirit Entertainment: the first on 26 November 2007, the second on 9 November 2009, and the third on 8 November 2010. Each contained a compilation of unseen footage and three extended episodes from the series archives with material considered too rude for broadcast. Audio CD versions of the DVDs were also made available. Boxtree published seven original tie-in books between 2008 and 2014, plus a compilation of the first two books.

Titles include Mock the Week: Scenes We'd Like to See (2008), Mock the Week: This Year's Book (2009), Mock the Week: 1001 Jokes (2010, later in paperback as Mock the Week: 1001 Scenes We'd Like to See), Mock the Week: Next Year's Book (2010), Mock the Week's Funniest Book of All Time (2011), Mock the Week's Only Book You'll Ever Need (2012), Mock the Week's Ultimate Panic-Buy! (2013), and Mock the Week's Brand Spanking New Scenes We'd Like to See (2014).