A satirical musical about the Duke of York and a revival of comedy TV show Friday Night Live are among a new roster of programmes announced by Channel 4.
The programmes form part of the Truth and Dare season as the broadcaster celebrates 40 years since it was created in 1982 by the Tory government of Margaret Thatcher.
The programme line-up also includes a new Frankie Boyle-fronted commission, as well as “an arts event like no other that will include stunts, surprises and special guests”, hosted by comedian Jimmy Carr.
The shows “are set to do what Channel 4 was created for: to give voice to the unheard, say the unsayable and show the unseen”, the broadcaster said.
Comedian Kieran Hodgson is to lead a cast of comics in Prince Andrew: The Musical, a 60-minute programme described as a “satirical send-up of the life and times” of the duke set to a musical score.
Written by and starring Two Doors Down star Hodgson as Andrew, and including original music by Freddie Tapner, the story will centre on “key events, relationships and controversies of Andrew’s life”.
The Hat Trick Productions show will also include a “reimagining” of the duke’s 2019 Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis.
The Queen’s second son stepped down from public life on November 20 2019, following the fallout from the BBC interview about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in August 2019.
The Return Of Friday Night Live resurrects the popular comedy show which is credited with launching the careers of its host Ben Elton, Harry Enfield, Julian Clary, Jo Brand and many more.
Originally broadcast as Saturday Live, the comedy and music show ran from 1985 to 1988, changing its name to Friday Night Live when it was moved to air on a Friday instead of a Saturday.
It also featured talents such as Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, and featured appearances from Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson as The Dangerous Brothers.
The Channel 4 revival will see Elton return as host for a 90-minute programme to “unite the hottest new wave stand-ups and character comedians alongside some original show legends in a dangerously live night of comedy”.
Elton, 63, was famed for ranting about Margaret Thatcher and co-wrote The Young Ones and Blackadder, and also penned a string of bestselling novels and sitcoms including The Thin Blue Line, starring Rowan Atkinson, and Upstart Crow, with David Mitchell.
In a 75-minute programme called Frankie Boyle: Monarchy, the Scottish comedian “turns his wry eye to the state of the British monarchy and its future, by looking back at its 1,000-year history”.
Art Trouble, the working title of the programme presented by Jimmy Carr, is billed as “an arts event like no other”.
The 75-minute programme, from independent TV production company ClearStory, is a “profoundly provocative exploration of the limits of free expression in art” and “whether we can separate the moral calibre of the artist from the value of their work”.
The programme will combine stunts, surprises and special guests with a public experiment conducted by well-known artists across Britain, and also celebrates what Channel 4 says are its “disruptive roots by exploring the boundary between controversial art and freedom of expression”.
If we must age, we plan to do it disgracefully— Ian Katz
Ian Katz, Channel 4’s chief content officer, said: “From musical satire about Prince Andrew to an exploration of cancel culture in art via men with very large penises, this season shows that Channel 4 is still as mischievous, disruptive and distinctive as when it was born 40 years ago.
“Instead of a nostalgia-thon of highlights from the last four decades, we are celebrating with a collection of irreverent, thought-provoking and hugely entertaining shows that no other broadcaster would air.
“If we must age, we plan to do it disgracefully.”
A documentary with the working title Too Large for Love will follow the experiences of the “hidden minority of men who have an extra-large penis”, while three-parter The 80s: The Future Is Now is an “eye-opening account of the 1980s” exploring how – in a decade of division and conflict – “Britain reinvented herself through radical politics, ferocious culture wars and futuristic technology”.
Other titles include What Is A Woman? and Afghan Porn Star, a 75-minute programme which tells the story of Khadija Cohen, also known as Yasmeena Ali, and her journey to forging a career in the porn industry.
