What a joke
Foul language, unfunny skits and blundering Russell Brand... viewers blast Comic Relief telethon ‘car crash TV’ but still dig deep
IT was the night the nation’s leading comedians and TV stars joined forces in the name of charity.
But despite raising £71million for Comic Relief, this year’s Red Nose Day telethon on BBC1 has been branded a disaster by viewers appalled by technical glitches and a series of crude jokes.
Russell Brand provided one of the big lowpoints when he exclaimed ‘f****** hell’ as the shambolic broadcast was interrupted by a message apologising for a break due to a fault.
But viewers of Friday’s night’s seven-hour marathon reacted most furiously to a skit involving comics Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer as hapless reporters Donald and David Stott interviewing breakfast TV star Susanna Reid.
Reeves appeared to flash a prosthetic penis from under his kilt during the interview, which was broadcast before the 9pm watershed. He and Mortimer also subjected Reid to a series of highly inappropriate questions such as whether she had ever worn the wrong knickers to work and
‘God that was awful. I think it’s the worst ever’
what she did when she ran out of toilet roll while on the lavatory.
In another highly cringeworthy moment, Cara Delevingne wass asked by Graham Norton whether she had ever had sex on an aeroplane as the 24-year-old supermodel’s father looked on in the studio audience.
One viewer tweeted: ‘Only so much cringe a man can take! This is utterly dreadful – the jokes, the sound quality. Definition of car crash TV!’
Another posted: ‘Vic and Bob unbearable. I think we have just witnessed the demise of f Vic and Bob’, while another r wrote: ‘God that was awful.... think this is the worst Comic Relief ever.’
Another mortifying sequence e in the broadcast came when n when singer Ed Sheeran and d 6ft 8in comedy star Greg Davies locked lips in a kiss after comedienne Miranda Hart told Sheeran a ‘silly rule’ meant he had to kiss ‘the tallest host of the night’.
Viewers were also shocked when co-host Sir Lenny Henry told rowdy members of the celebrity studio audience: ‘Can you just shut up over there please – it’s really noisy. Shut up. You have to be quiet... he’s (Norton) trying to make television.’
A competition to find the nation’s favourite biscuit, presented by Point- less star Richard Osman, was also lambasted by viewers.
It involved viewers voting for their favourite biscuits in a series of World Cup- style knockout rounds on Twitter.
Many viewers failed to see any humour in the contest while others questioned the BBC’s judgment in including an update of the vote immediately after a film featuring a starving girl from the famine- ravaged West African state Liberia.
One wrote: ‘What clown at Comic Relief thought to have a biscuit world cup after watching a poor girl die from malnutrition.’
There were some more successful moments, including the much-hailed short film sequel to the 2003 hit Love Actually.
Reprising his role as the Prime Minister, Hugh Grant provided inspirational words in the wake of the Westminster terror attack, saying: ‘Wherever you see tragedy, you see bravery too – wherever you see ordinary people in need, you see extraordinary people come to their aid.’
But overall the night was less successful than previous efforts, raising £7 million less than the last Comic Relief, in 2015. One viewer tweeted: ‘ What the hell are the BBC doing? It ain’t the acts fault. I feel for them them. Who’s directing this c**p?’
Another wrote: ‘We’ve abandoned Comic Relief for Gogglebox.
‘Can’t help but feel a bit cross by how c**p it was. Disservice to fundraising aspect.’
A spokesman for the BBC last night defended the show. He said: ‘Ultimately the British public dug deep and helped contribute to an amazing £71.3 million on the night total, which will go a huge way to improving the lives of many people both here in the UK and in some of the world’s poorest countries.
‘With regards to the Twitter comments, I’d suggest that comedy is always very subjective and Red Nose Day always intends to have something for everyone to enjoy across the seven-hour broadcast.’