Nish Kumar’s The Mash Report makes surprise return to TV

TV channel Dave has revived Nish Kumar’s The Mash Report after it was axed by the BBC.

The programme, a satirical take on the week’s news, aired for four series on BBC Two before the broadcaster announced in March that it was cancelling the programme “to make room for new comedy shows”.

It will now return as Late Night Mash on UKTV-owned channel Dave, with regular contributors Rachel Parris, Ellie Taylor, Geoff Norcott and Steve N Allen all returning.

Eight episodes and a special compiling the best moments from the series will feature “up-to-the-minute topical insights and fake news reports”, according to the channel.

Kumar said: “Mash is rising from the dead. I’m not saying I’m Jesus, I just look more like him than most images would have you believe.”

In 2018, broadcaster Andrew Neil singled out The Mash Report while complaining that the BBC’s comedy output was too left-wing.

He called the programme “self-satisfied, self-adulatory, unchallenged left-wing propaganda”.

Late Night Mash, produced by Zeppotron, is commissioned for UKTV by commissioning editor Mark Iddon and head of comedy entertainment Iain Coyle and ordered by Dave channel director Cherie Cunningham.

Iddon said: “Mash Lives! We couldn’t be happier to be working with Nish and the rest of the team over at Zeppotron.

“Mash has always been a show that has taken risks and brought top comedy talent to our screens.

“It’s relevant, reactive and we can’t think of a better new home for the show than Dave.”

Cunningham said: “Dave viewers love nothing more than the quick wit of the best comedians in the country and I know the topical nature of this show will really resonate as we watch Nish and the team grapple with the latest sensations, headlines and online chatter.”

Late Night Mash will air on Dave in the autumn.