Comedian and writer Ben Elton has accused the BBC of being too \u201cscared\u201d to allow jokes about Islam.<\/p>\n
Elton, who co-wrote critically acclaimed sitcoms such as The Young Ones and Blackadder, said the BBC\u2019s reluctance to run material that might offend Muslims was based on fear rather than morality.<\/p>\n
Speaking in an interview with Christian magazine Third Way, Elton was asked if too much deference was shown to religious people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it all starts with people nodding whenever anybody says, \u2018As a person of faith \u2026\u2019,\u201d Elton replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I believe that part of it is due to the genuine fear that the authorities and the community have about provoking the radical elements of Islam,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt about it, the BBC will let vicar gags pass but they would not let imam gags pass.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey might pretend that it\u2019s, you know, something to do with their moral sensibilities, but it isn\u2019t. It\u2019s because they\u2019re scared. I know these people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elton said it was difficult to use even common sayings: \u201cI wanted to use the phrase \u2018Muhammad came to the mountain\u2019 and everybody said, \u2018Oh, don\u2019t! Just don\u2019t! Don\u2019t go there!\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was nothing to do with Islam, I was merely referring to the old proverb, \u2018If the mountain won\u2019t come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.\u2019 And people said, \u2018Let\u2019s just not!\u2019 It\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elton described himself as an atheist but said he was in favour of God defined as \u201cthe mystery of the universe\u201d. His children attend a Church of England school and he said he attended church occasionally.<\/p>\n
Elton\u2019s comments were refuted by the BBC. \u201cNo subject is off limits for BBC comedy,\u201d a BBC spokesman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe treatment should not cause harm or offence as defined by the BBC\u2019s editorial guidelines or breach other BBC guidelines. There\u2019s no evidence that the BBC is afraid to tackle difficult subjects.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the interview, Elton also talked about the decline of traditional sitcoms that could be enjoyed by mass audiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the fault of artists, or even commissioners; I think it\u2019s the fault of technology \u2026 You can\u2019t smash the Spinning Jenny, but we need to at least recognise its consequences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I say that the chances of another Dad\u2019s Army developing are diminishing, it\u2019s because even if there is one happening at the moment, not enough people are going to notice for it to enter our consciousness and for us all to come to love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elton\u2019s most recent sitcom was the 2005 BBC1 series Blessed, which starred Ardal O\u2019Hanlon and Mel Giedroyc as a young couple bringing up children.<\/p>\n
He said his 1990s sitcom The Thin Blue Line, which starred Rowan Atkinson as a policeman, had been \u201ccastigated – I mean, brutal, absolutely unbelievable. It was accused of being almost wicked in its awfulness\u201d.<\/p>\n
Elton added that Blackadder was now seen as \u201csomething of value, although not at the time\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve recently watched some Blackadders again for the first time in nearly 20 years and I\u2019ve taken enormous joy in the fact that my kids love \u2018em,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something I never thought about when it was happening – that 20 years later I\u2019d be sitting and watching it with my children.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: Guardian.co.uk <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Comedian and writer Ben Elton has accused the BBC of being too \u201cscared\u201d to allow jokes about Islam. Elton, who co-wrote critically acclaimed sitcoms such as The Young Ones and Blackadder, said the BBC\u2019s reluctance to run material that might offend Muslims was based on fear rather than morality. Speaking in an interview with Christian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cast-crew"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}