Are the Welsh naturally miserable?

Brydon examines national identity

Rob Brydon has been making surprise appearances at comedy clubs for a TV film about his experiences of being Welsh.

The BBC4 programme was inspired by criticism Brydon received for one of his comedy routines, which was branded ‘offensive and insulting’ to his homeland.

In 1999, before he came to prominence on Marion and Geoff, Brydon made a ten-minute appearance on the Clarkson show with material based on his experience of being Welsh. But itcaused his oldest friend, David, to turn off his television in disgust.

A BBC spokesman said: ‘In Rob Brydon's Identity Crisis, Rob considers why his comedy caused offence, and tries to discover what makes his patriotic countrymen so defensive.

‘The programme also sees Rob constructing a stand-up routine of Welsh-based material which he tries out in a series of surprise appearances at comedy clubs around Wales. Will his routine impress David this time around?’

Byrdon interviewed Welsh celebrities including Griff Rhys Jones, rappers Goldie Lookin' Chain and Gavin And Stacey star Ruth Jones to help examine the national psyche, which he believes is naturally pessimistic.

Rob Brydon's Identity Crisis will air on BBC Four at 9pm on February 29.

Published: 8 Feb 2008

Live comedy picks

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.