The BBC has commissioned a new topical TV version of the hit QI podcast No Such Thing As A Fish.

No Such Thing As The News will launch next month on BBC Two, airing at 11pm on Fridays after Newsnight for five weeks.

Featuring James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray, Anna Ptaszynski and Dan Schreiber, the series will be “fast, intelligent, hilarious television, completely unlike any other show on air” and “aims to do for the news what QI does for the universe at large.”

The four young QI researchers, known by Stephen Fry’s affectionate nickname as ‘The QI Elves’, will tell each other the most interesting things they’ve discovered in the news that week.

Producer John Lloyd commented: “The last time I started a topical TV comedy show with four exceptionally talented but completely unknown stars was Not The Nine O’Clock News in 1979. No Such Thing As The News is radically different but equally exciting – and 37 years younger.”

James Harding, Director of BBC News,added: “This is news for people who don’t watch the news – as well as those who do. We’ll give viewers a sideways look at the big stories of the week. John Lloyd is a comic talent second to none, and we’re delighted to have him on board.”

The No Such Thing As A Fish podcast began in 2014 and its 110 weekly editions have been downloaded 25 million times, attracting 715,000 subscribers.

Are you looking forward to No Such Thing As The News? Let us know below…