Matt Forde's Unspun returns for the election | Dave to air two ultra-topical episodes a week

Matt Forde's Unspun returns for the election

Dave to air two ultra-topical episodes a week

Matt Forde’s political show Unspun is to return to Dave for twice-weekly episodes in the run-up to the general election, Chortle can reveal.

A further fourth series has also been commissioned by the broadcaster.

The third series will be recorded the same day as transmission, and comes hot on the heels of the second.

Forde, who used to be a Labour party aide, has a track record of attracting big-name guests to the show, including Tony Blair, Harriet Harman and Tim Farron last series. 

He said: ‘I'm delighted to be returning with Unspun during the election campaign. I for one welcome Theresa May's drive to keep satirists and political comedians in work. It seems to be the only issue which unites her and Jeremy Corbyn.’

The quick-turnaround third series will air on Wednesdays and Sundays starting on May 17.

Hilary Rosen, deputy director of commissioning for Dave’s parent company UKTV, said: ‘Dave is putting Unspun at the heart of its schedule and blazing a trail in the satirical space. Matt Forde is the best in the business – there’s no one else out there who is as funny and knowledgeable about the state of British politics. This will be required viewing in the run up to June 8.’’

And Steve North, Dave’s general manager, added: ‘We’re putting our weight behind Unspun because we feel there's a real need for contemporary and topical programming that unpicks politics and helps our viewers to understand where we are now. 

‘We are significantly increasing our coverage of politics in the run-up to the election and it's important that it's as fresh and up-to-date as it can be given the pace at which politics is playing out, particularly on social media.’

The second series, which only ended last month, launched with 114,000 overnight viewers, and featured comics Andy Zaltzman and Phil Wang as correspondents and a house band, MP4, composing politicians Greg Knight, Ian Cawsey, Pete Wishart and Kevin Brennan.

 UKTV previously pointed to the ‘strong profile’ of its demographic, with almost a third of viewers aged 16 to 34 and 66 per cent in the better-off ABC1 bracket.

Unspun is made by Avalon Television, whose agency arm also manages Forde. He has cancelled live dates to make time to film the episodes.

This is not the first time Dave has covered politics in a general election. In 2015, the channel commissioned a 90-minute film documenting Al Murray's campaign against Ukip leader Nigel Farage in South Thanet. 

Published: 7 May 2017

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