Clive Myrie on being pulled from BBC News: HIGNFY airs too close to bulletin

The newsreader had appeared on the comedy panel half an hour before the news programme airs.

Clive Myrie (Ian West/PA) (PA Wire)

Clive Myrie has spoken about why he was pulled from BBC News At Ten after hosting Have I Got News For You, saying the two shows were just “too close” together.

The newsreader and journalist, 58, had been presenting the topical comedy show on Friday, which covered the fallout of Boris Johnson stepping aside as an MP and the publication of his resignation honours list.

On Thursday, The Times reported the BBC was concerned about accusations of impartiality being made so dropped the presenter from the slot last week and replaced him with newsreader Jane Hill.

When asked when he knew he was going to be told to come off air on Thursday’s Steph’s Packed Lunch, Mastermind host Myrie said: “It was after I had recorded the show (HIGNFY), which is the day before.”

He added on the Channel 4 programme that he “couldn’t do” the bulletin the same night, which airs half an hour before the comedy panel programme featuring Private Eye editor Ian Hislop and comedian Paul Merton.

During the BBC show, Hislop made jokes about the “end” of Myrie’s career based on what the presenter read out about Mr Johnson while hosting the show.

Myrie, who had presented BBC News At Six on Friday, also said: “It was nothing to do with the jokes, they’d have just pulled the programme if it was the jokes, it was because the two programmes were too close together.”

He appeared to agree with host Steph McGovern that the decision was down to it being weird that he could not be funny on one show and serious on another programme in such a close time period.

Speaking about being on the show, Myrie also said:  “I love it, it’s a great, great team behind the programme and Ian and Paul are wonderful, wonderful guys to be around and it’s just fun.

“To be out of that sort of straitjacket of news for a while is brilliant.”

The episode also featured guests such as comedian Munya Chawawa and journalist Helen Lewis.

A BBC source told the PA news agency: “It was just an accident of scheduling and the decision was taken because of the optics of appearing on the two programmes practically back to back.”