That's ridiculous. There are more men on panel shows because there are more males in comedy. Would I Lie to You works with female panellists because they can be from any job in showbiz, such as actresses, who don't necessarily need to be funny themselves, as long as they join in with the show.
Personally, I like Sarah Millican (but can understand why others don't) but surely having her on rotation with about five other female comedians (I'm thinking Sandi Toksvig, Shappi Khorsandi, Jo Brand, Gina Yashere and maybe Miranda Hart) would just not work.
That's ridiculous. There are more men on panel shows because there are more males in comedy. Would I Lie to You works with female panellists because they can be from any job in showbiz, such as actresses, who don't necessarily need to be funny themselves, as long as they join in with the show.
Personally, I like Sarah Millican (but can understand why others don't) but surely having her on rotation with about five other female comedians (I'm thinking Sandi Toksvig, Shappi Khorsandi, Jo Brand, Gina Yashere and maybe Miranda Hart) would just not work.
There are already complaints about having the same male comedians on panel shows and there is a vastly bigger range of males to choose from.
I do think shows should feature more females but as Mack said in the article there is a lack of female talent in comedy as a whole, not just in panel shows.
"We're not going to have panel shows on any more with no women on them," Danny Cohen told the Observer. "You can't do that. It's not acceptable."
I wonder if he's ever considered the possibillity that fewer women want to go on panel shows?
Let's take an example, where the number of women who could be in a "panel" is the same as the number of men. Further, these women are just as qualified to take part as their male colleagues. They are also in a group that is largely unencumbered by the usual reasons given for women not taking part in activities: having to look after their children or other responibilities, having jobs that won't let them, being less able to afford it due to lower incomes.
It turns out that there are slightly more women than men at university. And while women get fractionally fewer first-class degrees, they get fractionally more two-ones. They also are mostly childless and dependent-free and get the same grants as male students.
So why are there so few women on University Challenge? They are equally qualified and intelligent, equally enabled and only have to apply in the same way that men do - but most teams (of 4 students) are either all men or have one woman. Sometimes the totals for both teams together is 7 :: 1.
The only reason I can think of is that women choose not to apply. If the argument is that women, as a whole, are less competitive than men, that seems to mean that trying to equalise the numbers away from its "natural" ratio, would be forcing women to do something they prefer not to. Is that what Danny Cohen means by "acceptable"?
There are already complaints about having the same male comedians on panel shows and there is a vastly bigger range of males to choose from.
I do think shows should feature more females but as Mack said in the article there is a lack of female talent in comedy as a whole, not just in panel shows.
I would also suspect most of the best women stand ups at club level- Bridget Christie etc- are unlikely to want to go anywhere near MTW. (Though Christie's website says she will be on HIGNFY & QI this year)
Good news for Aisling Bea if she is willing to do it, I'd imagine.
I agree there should be more woman on panel shows but when it's because of some edict from above it seems forced and just designed to placate the PC brigade.
What an utter twonk. Danny Cohen is a perfect example of how sad and pathetic the BBC is under the ghastly spectre of PC madness. In a stroke, he has diminished the presence of any genuinely funny/ knowledgeable female performer or spokesman who might appear. What is he going to find unacceptable next, all male rugby teams!
Cohen is an arsehole. If not for Call the Midwife he would not be in that position today.
Instead of being PC about all male panel shows the sisterhood and that fool Cohen would be better advised to be mad at Shappi, Brand and all the other poor female comics who have failed so miserably whenever they appear.
Genius idea Danny, introduce a forced weak link to shows that have pulled in the viewers with dependable regularity for more than 10 years. Presumably if Loose Women were on BBC1 he`d insist there was a man in it going by his twisted logic of no more exclusive one-sex shows? Is this going to apply to everything from now on, with no BBC shows allowed to be either solely male or solely female in front of the camera?
Jo Brand is really embracing the wholly undeserved elder stateswoman of comedy position that she seems to have bestowed upon herself and has taken to issuing these proclamations from the mount as if she has an earned position to do so. She forgets she`s NOT bloody funny at all. Not even a little bit. 25+ years of cake gags is nothing to be proud of.
Can't they just get rid of the panel shows instead? There are far too many of them. They are old and tired and have had their day.
There's a blindingly simple answer to that - don't watch them!
I still love Mock The Week and enjoy QI, whoever is on. I am annoyed that some pillock has effectively decided to marr the shows by insisting they not all be males on the panel.
Soon it'll be the races turn. Meaning, they'll have to make the size of the panels a lot bigger to incorporate the different races we have in the UK now. I mean, what would happen if it wasn't 50/50 white, black, muslim and other race they care to mention?
I think if he were to ask the majority of women what they thought, I doubt many of us would give a monkeys about how many women are on these panels!
Once again it is political correctness gone mad. I'm so pleased I'm not living in the UK anymore.
Consistently all male panels on Question Time ... antiquated.
Consistently all male panels on comedy shows... just as antiquated.
To all the male whingers on here...it's not the 1950s anymore even if you wished it were. And the saddoes who claim women can't be funny... get back to your Bernard Manning betamax tapes.
I can relate to the Scottish jokes, I can relate to the West Country jokes, I can't really relate to jokes about strict Nigerian parents.
Well, that's your problem not hers then, isn't it?
I know plenty of white English blokes who could tell amusing tales of when their Mum or Dad 'weighed them in' maybe that would be more 'relatable' to you.
I enjoyed listening to Jeff Foxworthy's 'you might be a redneck' act many many times, both CD's are guffed now and skip like buggery.
I'm neither American nor a Redneck.
Anyway done this particular point before on a few threads over the years, F'ed if I'm doing it again.
Comments
But Sarah Millican is far worse than most of these men
That's what I was thinking. If some of the men are about as funny as crotch rot e.g. Andy Parsons, then why introduce an even weaker link?
Bet she's having a cake or three to celebrate.
I wouldn't know, I don't read newspapers. I find them less absorbent than traditional bog roll, but filled with similar content.
Personally, I like Sarah Millican (but can understand why others don't) but surely having her on rotation with about five other female comedians (I'm thinking Sandi Toksvig, Shappi Khorsandi, Jo Brand, Gina Yashere and maybe Miranda Hart) would just not work.
I do think shows should feature more females but as Mack said in the article there is a lack of female talent in comedy as a whole, not just in panel shows.
Let's take an example, where the number of women who could be in a "panel" is the same as the number of men. Further, these women are just as qualified to take part as their male colleagues. They are also in a group that is largely unencumbered by the usual reasons given for women not taking part in activities: having to look after their children or other responibilities, having jobs that won't let them, being less able to afford it due to lower incomes.
It turns out that there are slightly more women than men at university. And while women get fractionally fewer first-class degrees, they get fractionally more two-ones. They also are mostly childless and dependent-free and get the same grants as male students.
So why are there so few women on University Challenge? They are equally qualified and intelligent, equally enabled and only have to apply in the same way that men do - but most teams (of 4 students) are either all men or have one woman. Sometimes the totals for both teams together is 7 :: 1.
The only reason I can think of is that women choose not to apply. If the argument is that women, as a whole, are less competitive than men, that seems to mean that trying to equalise the numbers away from its "natural" ratio, would be forcing women to do something they prefer not to. Is that what Danny Cohen means by "acceptable"?
I would also suspect most of the best women stand ups at club level- Bridget Christie etc- are unlikely to want to go anywhere near MTW. (Though Christie's website says she will be on HIGNFY & QI this year)
Good news for Aisling Bea if she is willing to do it, I'd imagine.
I do hope that comment was meant to be a joke
Cohen is an arsehole. If not for Call the Midwife he would not be in that position today.
Instead of being PC about all male panel shows the sisterhood and that fool Cohen would be better advised to be mad at Shappi, Brand and all the other poor female comics who have failed so miserably whenever they appear.
Genius idea Danny, introduce a forced weak link to shows that have pulled in the viewers with dependable regularity for more than 10 years. Presumably if Loose Women were on BBC1 he`d insist there was a man in it going by his twisted logic of no more exclusive one-sex shows? Is this going to apply to everything from now on, with no BBC shows allowed to be either solely male or solely female in front of the camera?
Jo Brand is really embracing the wholly undeserved elder stateswoman of comedy position that she seems to have bestowed upon herself and has taken to issuing these proclamations from the mount as if she has an earned position to do so. She forgets she`s NOT bloody funny at all. Not even a little bit. 25+ years of cake gags is nothing to be proud of.
There's a blindingly simple answer to that - don't watch them!
I still love Mock The Week and enjoy QI, whoever is on. I am annoyed that some pillock has effectively decided to marr the shows by insisting they not all be males on the panel.
What a steaming pile of horseshit.
I think if he were to ask the majority of women what they thought, I doubt many of us would give a monkeys about how many women are on these panels!
Once again it is political correctness gone mad. I'm so pleased I'm not living in the UK anymore.
Gina Yashere's family are from Nigeria, dontchaknow
Because if it does ... oh dear.
Erm...nope.
Frankie Boyle's from Scotland.
Russell Howard's from the West Country.
Shocking I know because they never mention it, ever...
I can relate to the Scottish jokes, I can relate to the West Country jokes, I can't really relate to jokes about strict Nigerian parents.
Jobs for the girls.
Not a fan of Stephen K Amos then either?
Consistently all male panels on comedy shows... just as antiquated.
To all the male whingers on here...it's not the 1950s anymore even if you wished it were. And the saddoes who claim women can't be funny... get back to your Bernard Manning betamax tapes.
Well, that's your problem not hers then, isn't it?
I know plenty of white English blokes who could tell amusing tales of when their Mum or Dad 'weighed them in' maybe that would be more 'relatable' to you.
I enjoyed listening to Jeff Foxworthy's 'you might be a redneck' act many many times, both CD's are guffed now and skip like buggery.
I'm neither American nor a Redneck.
Anyway done this particular point before on a few threads over the years, F'ed if I'm doing it again.