Sacha Baron Cohen - 'Banned from BBC'?

[Teddy Bear]

Sacha Baron Cohen has a new character - a Middle Eastern Gaddhafi-like dictator called Admiral General Aladeen. You would think that any major media company would jump at the chance to have such a creative talent as SCB appearing on any of their shows.

For 'some reason' the BBC declined. Could it be they find his 'character' a little too hot for them?

I like his response - Cohen also said shows on Radio 1 and Radio 4 had refused to let him appear as Aladeen, telling The Sun - in character - that the broadcaster was 'victimising little old me'.

He added: 'While I am a huge admirer of state-sponsored censorship, the BBC banning me from their meagre channels is an outrage.'
;D

Has the BBC banned comic Sacha Baron Cohen's Dictator character from its shows?

By Emma Reynolds

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen claims the BBC have placed a ban on his latest character from new film The Dictator.

The 40-year-old alleged that top TV and radio shows have all mysteriously pulled out of talks over interviewing him as Colonel Gaddafi-style leader Admiral General Aladeen.

He claimed to have had interest from The Graham Norton Show, The One Show, Newsnight and The Andrew Marr Show before the 'blackout'.

Cohen also said shows on Radio 1 and Radio 4 had refused to let him appear as Aladeen, telling The Sun - in character - that the broadcaster was 'victimising little old me'.

He added: 'While I am a huge admirer of state-sponsored censorship, the BBC banning me from their meagre channels is an outrage.'

But a BBC spokesman told MailOnline there is no ban, saying the comedian's claim was 'tongue-in-cheek'.

The spokesman said that few of the television shows mentioned would be an appropriate platform for one of Cohen's controversial characters.

But sources close to the star say he was approached by The One Show to appear as Aladeen.

Too serious: The BBC said that the news-based shows mentioned, such as the Andrew Marr Show, would not be an appropriate platform for one of Cohen's characters

Too serious: The BBC said that the news-based shows mentioned, such as the Andrew Marr Show, would not be an appropriate platform for one of Cohen's characters

'A lot of them are pre-watershed too, so Sacha's character would not really work for those shows,' he added.

He confirmed that the Cambridge graduate had approached The Graham Norton Show, however, but added: 'The Graham Norton Show said it is about personalities. Appearances in character are normally scripted, which might not work if he was on the sofa beside other guests.

'Any of our chat shows would be interested in interviewing Sacha as himself.'

In February, there was a similar episode when Oscar bosses were apparently forced into a U-turn after taking away Cohen's ticket because they feared he would walk the red carpet dressed as Aladeen.

The British comedian then arrived in character as the Middle Eastern dictator and claimed to be carrying the ashes of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

The Dictator, which also stars Megan Fox and Gandhi actor Ben Kingsley, is out next week.

The BBC was embroiled in another controversy this week when My Family star Zoe Wanamaker revealed the popular sitcom was being dumped because it was ‘too middle-class’.

[Teddy Bear]

In another article the BBC have said

"There is no ban," a BBC spokesman said. "But our chat shows thrive on the spontaneous banter between guests and the presenter, something you just don't get when people come on as characters.

We'd love to have Sacha on as himself."

To be honest I don't watch much 'celebrity' type TV but I had a feeling that Ricky Gervais must have appeared on one of these chat shows. So a quick Google search gave me this example - I was sure he was going to come on 'in character, and I doubt the BBC were disappointed with him for doing it.

The problem for the BBC, but they won't admit it, is it depends what the character portrays, and they don;t have the guts to take the piss out of a Middle-Eastern Muslim tyrant, as much as they're crying out for it.



Can you think of any other 'characters' that appear in chat shows to show how disingenuous the BBC is being?

BBC says Cohen, not character, welcome on its shows

LONDON, May 4 (UPI) -- The BBC says British writer-actor Sacha Baron Cohen would be a welcome guest on its shows so long as he comes as himself and not in character.

Cohen is known for promoting his big-screen comedies such as "Borat" and "Bruno" by appearing in public as those characters. He also walked the red carpet at the Oscars in February dressed as his character from "The Dictator," a comedy about fictional Middle Eastern despot Adm. Gen. Aladeen, due out in theaters this month.

The BBC dismissed as untrue Friday rumors claiming it won't allow Cohen to appear on its programs to talk about the movie.

"There is no ban," a BBC spokesman said. "But our chat shows thrive on the spontaneous banter between guests and the presenter, something you just don't get when people come on as characters.

We'd love to have Sacha on as himself."

"While I am a huge admirer of state-sponsored censorship, the BBC banning me from their meager channels is an outrage," Cohen as Aldeen said in a statement. "Why are they victimizing little old me?"

[Teddy Bear]

To really highlight the BBC bullshit attitude here

BBC One faces sitcom drought ...as rivals compete for pitches

The BBC says it is facing a sitcom drought – as all the best ideas are being pitched to ITV, Channel 4 and Sky.
And BBC One is most affected because creators are thought to fear the high risk of exposure on the flagship network.
The corporation’s controller of comedy commissioning, Cheryl Taylor , says she is feeling the pressure as Sky and ITV have become more active in making new sitcoms.
‘Comedy is the genre du jour,’ she told trade magazine Broadcast. ‘ITV, Sky... everyone is coming to the party.
‘But because it's a small gene pool for talent, on and off screen, that puts pressure on the biggest, brightest, shiniest shows. It's a sellers' market in comedy at the moment, which has impacted the number of scripts we are getting.’
BBC One controller Danny Cohen has repeatedly complained about the lack of mainstream comedies being pitched to his station, because writing to make five million viewers laugh is ‘one of the hardest things in all of entertainment’.
Only last month he told staff: ‘Comedy, of all genres on BBC One, is the one we are most undersupplied with. I can't fill the slots almost because we don't get enough high quality scripts or comedy.’
BBC One has only one new mainstream sitcom planned for this year: Citizen Khan, , about a self-appointed Muslim community leader in Birmingham.
However Taylor said she was committed to finding ‘sassy, witty, pre-watershed shows’ to fill the void.

What kind of humour do you imagine Citizen Khan will feature?

This clip featuring 'Citizen Khan' is just about what I imagined it was going to be.

BBC One controller Danny Cohen has repeatedly complained about the lack of mainstream comedies being pitched to his station, because writing to make five million viewers laugh is ‘one of the hardest things in all of entertainment’.
Only last month he told staff: ‘Comedy, of all genres on BBC One, is the one we are most undersupplied with. I can't fill the slots almost because we don't get enough high quality scripts or comedy.’

Humour is taking something topical that everybody can relate to, and finding the funny edge to it. After George Bush the BBC ran out of material, which is why Cohen makes the comment above.

I think we can all identify a mindset that's just begging for humour to be made out of it. But the chicken-shit BBC hasn't got the guts for that, so they let THEM make fun out of us.
Now Danny Cohen, Controller BBC One, said: "Citizen Khan will bring wonderful new comic talent and a fresh flavour to the heart of BBC One.
"Peter Salmon, Director BBC North, said: "The audience were rolling in the aisles at the Salford Sitcom Showcase and I am sure that Citizen Khan will have them roaring with laughter on BBC One."

Rolling in the aisles?
The left wing mindset will see this kind of 'humour' as a way of showing just how 'tolerant' they are.

I think there's a lot of humour available to portray this left-wing mindset - one day somebody like Sacha Baron will - but not on the BBC.