The team behind the hit Have A Word podcast are launching a replacement for Live At The Apollo.

Last week the BBC announced that it would be axing the stand-up showcase after 22 years, during which it helped supercharge many comedians’ careers.

Now Have A Word has announced plans to replicate the line-up format for YouTube ‘without the shackles & censorship that naturally come with broadcast TV’ – to be hosted by its presenters Adam Rowe and Dan Nightingale.

Producers have previously run line-up gigs under the name Murderers Row at major venues including the King’s Theatre in Glasgow, Manchester Opera House and the Hackney Empire in London.

Rowe said the axing of Live At The Apollo. was ‘the end of an era’, adding: ‘It’s the show that got an entire generation of people into stand-up, including me. Without this show, I'm not sure I would be a comedian (maybe you think that would be a good thing).’

Revealing the plans on Instagram, he said: ‘We believe there needs to be a regular stand-up series that showcases the best comedians in the country. A combination of big names and the comics you haven't heard of yet that are about to become your new favourite. But maybe it doesn't need to be on terrestrial TV any more.

‘We are going to create that show and release it on YouTube. The platform is already being utilised for comics to self-release specials; however this we believe will be the first series of its kind on the platform. We want to use the channel we've built to give comics an opportunity to do their stuff without the shackles & censorship that naturally come with broadcast TV.’

The Have A Word YouTube channel, which has more than 100,000 subscribers, has the potential to reach an audience close to that of the BBC.  The last series of Live At The Apollo reportedly attracted around 660,000 viewers per episode. Rowe’s 2023 special Juicy has amassed 403,000 views in the three years since it dropped. 

The podcast also has almost 44,000 members paying at least £3 a month on Pateron.

Eight episodes of the new programme will be filmed in March next year, with both Rowe and Nightingale hosting four episodes each.

They say that instead of the new full-length specials they planned to release this year, their current touring material will be used for this show.

As well as sourcing acts directly, producers are inviting comics, agents and managers to pitch to murderersrow@haveawordpod.com

The BBC said it axed Live At The Apollo to save money, but promised to unveil ‘digital plans focused on stand-up and emerging comedy talent’ in its place.