Bob Monkhouse Repair Shop special axed for ‘sexist’ jokes
Tribute episode cancelled after TV production worker complained about a joke written in the 60s
An episode of the BBC’s The Repair Shop was pulled after a TV production worker objected to a “sexist” Bob Monkhouse joke.
The late comedian and presenter’s famous joke books had been brought into the studio for repair by Colin Edmonds, his former comedy partner, and Abigail Williams, his adopted daughter.
The restoration of the books was to be filmed at the show’s barn in Singleton, West Sussex, for a special tribute programme, to be aired this year.
However, a member of Ricochet, the production company that makes Repair Shop, complained about one of Monkhouse’s jokes, claiming it was sexist. Corporation bosses then decided to pull the segment.
A source told The Sun: “A production employee stumbled across a joke – no doubt written in the 1960s – and took offence, believing it to be sexist.
“They flagged the problem, and a ‘collective decision’ was made to cull the whole thing.
“Experts waiting to lovingly restore the historical joke books were disheartened. Bob’s loved ones, who had agreed to participate in the show to talk passionately about his life, were at a loss.
“This has to be the corporation’s most embarrassing decision yet.”
Monkhouse’s journals contained thousands of pages of jokes, illustrated with cartoons and doodles.
Since his death in 2003, the journals have been stored in suitcases underneath Mr Edmonds’ desk.
They include cartoons of topless women and jokes many would today deem sexist.
Mr Edmonds previously said: “They are of their time. There are things that were acceptable in the Seventies which one wouldn’t dream of saying today.”
The BBC told The Sun that axing the Bob Monkhouse Repair Shop show was a “production decision” which the corporation “supported out of consideration for all viewers”.
It added that “production evaluates each and every item” and “decisions on which to run are made with the viewer in mind”.
A Ricochet spokesperson said: “Making decisions on which items to repair and include in the programme is part of the normal production process. These decisions are based on a range of factors.”
[Source: Daily Telegraph]
