has expressed his admiration for the brains behind Mock The Week as the BBC series is axed – but speculated that there could be a chance for it to be saved.
Today, it was announced that after 17 years, the beloved comedy panel show is .
In a statement, presenter and comedian Dara Ó Briain sarcastically joked that the UK had ‘run out of news’, saying: ‘We just couldn’t be more silly than the news was already. Huge thanks to all our guests over the years, so many of whom went on to huge successes of their own, and never write or call. It was a joy!’
Reacting to the news on Twitter, Richard – whose after he stepped down as host – paid tribute to the stars and creators of Mock The Week.
‘Respect to Dan Patterson and @daraobriain and the gang for 17 years of #MockTheWeek, with ratings strong til the very end. The BBC is running out of money for these sorts of shows,’ he wrote, giving a shout-out to Dara and Dan Patterson, who co-created the programme with Mark Leveson.
However, he then shared his prediction that Mock The Week could still have a future, writing: ‘I would be shocked to my core if this doesn’t end up on Dave though.’
Even though Dave is owned by UKTV – a subsidiary of the BBC – several Twitter users latched onto Richard’s hope that Mock The Week could be saved.
‘I really hope it goes to Dave, too good to stop the show,’ one person tweeted.
‘I hope so! I’m getting withdrawal symptoms already,’ someone else said, as another chimed in to add: ‘@Davechannel pretty please.’
In its statement announcing the end of Mock The Week, the BBC said: ‘The next series of Mock The Week will be the last, we are really proud of the show but after 21 series we have taken the difficult decision in order to create room for new shows.
‘We would like to thank Angst Productions, host Dara O’Briain, panellist Hugh Dennis and all the guest comedians involved in the show across the 21 series.’
The show, which first launched in 2005, has been credited with helping to launch the careers of comedians including Russell Howard, Frankie Boyle and Angela Barnes.
UKTV declined to comment when contacted by Metro.co.uk.
Mock The Week is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
