The provocative satirical news reporter Jonathan Pie is bringing his angry political rants to the BBC.
Since 2016, Jonathan Pie has been gloriously telling it like it is online. with his splenetic doses of truth-telling. The angry UK “journalist” lays bare the hypocrisy of politics and the frustrations of those who report on it.
Now, Tom Walker, who writes and performs the character, is bringing Jonathan Pie to BBC Radio 4. In a new sitcom, he’ll find himself confronted with the views of the great unwashed as he takes to the airwaves for a brand-new late-night phone-in show, with unexpected results…
The show will expose the wider listening public to Pie. He’ll direct his ire towards everything from ‘women’s issues’ to cancel culture, the NHS, identity politics and the BBC itself.
Behind the scenes, we’re promised an insight into Pie’s clashes with his production team and the BBC senior management. The show lifts the lid on his personal life too, as he battles with his ex-wife and his agent, and struggles to keep control amid the challenges of a rapidly changing world.
More used to interviewing vapid politicians with their prepared lines, Pie will find he’s a fish out of water in his attempts to deal with the general public and their “barely sentient” opinions — which they’re all too willing to share with him. Pie takes no prisoners, skewering callers from all sides of the political spectrum.
Tom Walker says:
“It’s really exciting to see Pie interact with such an array of other characters for the first time, in his new podcast for the BBC. It brings him to life in a way that fans will not have seen before. For others, this part sitcom, part spoof phone-in show, will be a perfect introduction into Pie’s world.”
Jonathan Pie is produced by Alison Vernon-Smith of Yada Yada Productions for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. For more details, including the wider cast, check out the BBC press release.
The series lands as a 10-part boxset on Friday 9th June on BBC Sounds. A BBC Radio 4 broadcast will follow in the summer.