When it was announced yesterday that Frankie Boyle’s BBC series New World Order had been cancelled, the comedian’s reaction was frank but restrained. “Not surprising in the current climate, I suppose,” he told fans on Twitter, many of whom had followed his superb topical panel show devotedly for the five years it was on the air. Boyle didn’t elaborate on what he meant by the words “current climate”, but it doesn’t take too many imaginative leaps to hazard a guess. New World Order was one of the few shows on TV that was sincerely and unapologetically left-wing. And politically speaking, the BBC is in the midst of a full-fledged climate crisis.
It’s not good for optics that New World Order’s cancellation comes just weeks after the BBC was embroiled in an impartiality row with Match of the Day host Gary Lineker. The dispute – prompted by a tweet in which Lineker likened language in the Conservative party’s draconian new immigration policy to that used in 1930s Germany – was a black eye for the BBC. In removing Lineker from the role, they underestimated the show of solidarity from his fellow presenters, and others across the BBC Sports team. Not to mention the public support. The truncated 20-minute episode of Match of the Day that aired that Saturday, devoid of commentary and punditry, will be remembered in infamy. Ultimately, Lineker was restored to the role, but allegations of BBC prejudice have only intensified.
