Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year under fire for featuring no female comedians

Several female comics claimed line-up exposed a troubling pattern in comedy panel shows

David Mitchell, James Acaster, Stacey Solomon and Jimmy Carr in The Big Fat Quiz of the Year (Channel 4)

Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year has come under fire for booking no female comedians on its panel.

The annual quiz show, which screens on Boxing Day, will once again be fronted by Jimmy Carr. Its panel, meanwhile, features comedians James Acaster and Joe Lycett, and comedy actors and writers David Mitchell and Richard Ayoade.

But while all five men come from the world of comedy, the women appearing on the panel are TV presenters Maya Jama and Stacey Solomon, neither of whom have substantially worked in comedy themselves.

The discrepancy was noticed by a number of female comedians.

In a since-deleted tweet, comedian Rachel Parris of The Mash Report questioned why women in her profession were not among the panel.

“I’d love to know who booked this and actually sit down and have a polite conversation with them to understand why they do this, what they think about women and how they got their job,” Parris wrote.

She added: “The practise of casting comedy shows with only male comedians plus other famous women who are not comedians is unbelievably infuriating. It’s a comedy show, @Channel4, do you not know any female comedians?”

Parris clarified that her stance was not related to Jama or Solomon themselves.

“I think they’re great, and great at what they do, it’s just a really specific issue here,” Parris said. “Pro male comics and not any pro female comics and it happens very often. Sub in [Sarah] Millican, [Sara] Pascoe and Philip Schofield.”

Comedian Fern Brady also tweeted about the lack of female comedians on the show.

“BIG FAT SAUSAGE QUIZ OF THE YEAR,” Brady joked. “[Question] one: In what year will it be acceptable to book funny women instead of insanely beautiful women?”

Comedian Angela Barnes added: “Arrrgghhh. Funny boys and pretty girls. Happens all the bloody time. WHY ARE THERE NO FEMALE COMICS ON THIS COMEDY SHOW?”

In a statement, a spokesperson for The Big Fat Quiz of the Year told The Independent: “From the very outset, both The Big Fat Quiz of the Year and The Big Fat Quiz of Everything have featured a brilliant line up of male and female talent.” 

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year is screened on 26 December at 9.05pm on Channel 4.