The Beeb leaves a bad impression

THE BBC can’t help patronising viewers, says Jan Ravens, the Dead Ringers comedian whose Theresa May impression is disturbingly accurate. ‘We wanted to do a sketch about [IMF chief] Christine Lagarde and Angela Merkel, but the channel controller said Eileen in Leeds wouldn’t know who they are,’ revealed Ravens on Radio 4. She rightly insisted: ‘Eileen does know who they are now.’

Veteran satirist Rory Bremner sums up the craven approach of TV bosses towards comedy. ‘They say they haven’t got the budget, but they haven’t got the balls.’