Did BBC Scotland rip off this comedian's routine? | Sketch is remarkably similar

Did BBC Scotland rip off this comedian's routine?

Sketch is remarkably similar

BBC Scotland has been accused of ripping off an up-and-coming stand-up.

A new online sketch in the broadcaster's Short Stuff series bears an uncanny resemblance to a routine performed by Glaswegian comic Christopher MacArthur-Boyd.

In the scene, a straight couple are seen at a French and Italian restaurant, with the man ordering in the exaggerated accent that matches the cuisine – much to the dismay of his partner. But when he goes to order Chinese food, he's silenced for fear of being branded racist.

The close similarity between the sketch and the routine MacArthur-Boyd regularly performs in Scotland did not go unnoticed.

Promoter and comic Alan Anderson posted under the video: 'Nice to see you have totally ripped of Scottish comedian Christopher MacArthur Boyd's routine', calling it 'an almost word for word rip-off'.

The clip was posted on Facebook, where it has received almost 50,000 views, YouTube and BBC iPlayer.

Macarthur-Boyd, 24, last month made his own film for Short Stuff about people who ruin house parties.

He has made the Scottish Comedian of the Year finals three times, as well as the final of So You Think You’re Funny? last year, and has also competed in the BBC New Comedy Award.

Macarthur-Boyd declined to comment on the similarities today.

But BBC Scotland said: 'The sketch in question was pitched to Short Stuff and commissioned in good faith, as the BBC had no reason to believe it was anything other than original material.

'Having been alerted to the concerns raised, we're speaking to all parties on both sides in an attempt to find an amicable solution.'

Here is the BBC Scotland sketch:

And here is MacArthur-Boyd's routine.

Published: 17 Nov 2017

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