Iconic panel show Mock the Week is set to return to screens in 2026, four years after it was axed by the BBC, and will be broadcast on a free-to-air rival challenge
Mock the Week was axed from television four years ago, but the BBC panel show is now poised for a spectacular return next year. The satirical news commentary programme, which launched the careers of Hugh Dennis, Frankie Boyle, and Russell Howard, is scheduled to make its comeback on screens in 2026.
Initially debuting back in 2005, Mock the Week offered a comedic take on weekly news stories and quickly established itself as a broadcasting favourite. The half-hour comedy format eventually concluded in 2022 following 17 years on air, but its return has now been officially announced.
This time around, the programme will air on TLC, as the channel transitions to free-to-air broadcasting in the UK come January 2026, delivering additional scripted and unscripted programming, reports the Express.
Warner Bros. Discovery released a statement confirming the show’s revival, produced by Angst Productions, would provide the “much-loved” format with a “new look”.
Cast announcements remain pending, though supporters are eager to witness Hugh, Frankie, Russell, and fellow comedian Andy Parsons grace screens once again.
TLC operates as a television network in America, which Warner Bros. Discovery has recently chosen to introduce on Freeview in Britain, simultaneously discontinuing HGTV.
The UK debut of TLC will additionally showcase scripted programming including The Big Bang Theory and its enduring comedy-drama offshoot, Young Sheldon.
The show, which first aired in 2005, was cancelled back in 2022 with host Dara O’Briain sharing a sad statement at the time. “That’s it folks, the UK has finally run out of news,” he said.
“The storylines were getting crazier and crazier – global pandemics, divorce from Europe, novelty short-term prime ministers. It couldn’t go on.”
Earlier this year, Mock the Week star Milton Jones announced that he was ‘cancer free’ after undergoing surgery. The stand-up comic cancelled a number of dates earlier this year after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
However, he said in August that he is “in a completely different place” now. He said in a statement: “A few months ago, I had to stop my tour Ha! Milton because I needed treatment for prostate cancer. I’m glad to say I’ve had that treatment and am now cancer free!”
Milton continued to the PA News Agency: “So, many thanks to all the doctors and nurses who helped me get better – I couldn’t do their job (I tried, but apparently you have to be qualified).
“A big thank you to my family, friends, all those who helped reschedule things and the many others who have been so nice to me.
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