BBC licence fee: Caller says she will 'not pay anymore'

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The Defund the BBC campaign group claimed working class people had come under fire from comedian Joe Lycett during his first guest appearance on the broadcaster’s long-running satirical quiz show Have I Got News For You, which aired at the end of April. Mr Lycett, who also presents the BBC show The Great British Sewing Bee, appeared to use the working class stereotype of a northern accent as he mocked the idea of a “right-wing Sewing Bee” featuring guests called Gary. He said: “We’re meant to be a bit left and a bit right now, aren’t we?

“I tried to work out if you could do a right-wing Sewing Bee and I decided it wouldn’t be called Sewing Bee, it would be called ‘Old women and p***s.

“And everyone on it would be called Gary, and I would go around asking, ‘What are you making, Gary’, and he would go, ‘A Swastika blanket.”

After he made the joke, the camera panned to regular panellists Ian Hislop and Paul Merton laughing along with host Alexander Armstrong and fellow guest Kirsty Wark – who is also a BBC journalist.

The campaign group captioned the video with a warning for viewers overpaying the annual £159 TV licence fee.

They said: “Stop paying to be insulted.”

Social media users were quick to share their fury at Mr Lycett’s joke.

One person wrote on Twitter: “This p****s me off.”

Another added: “I wont watch it again and if the ratings drop, the BBC knows where the problem is.”

A third user also agreed the show appeared to portray a “metropolitan elite establishment sneering down at the working classes”.

Meanwhile, Mr Armstrong also caused outrage with viewers during the same show when he was accused of mocking the Welsh language while making a joke about Mount Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa.

He started by explaining how a councillor wanted Mount Snowdon to be referred to by its Welsh pronunciation, Yr Wyddfa.

Mr Lycett joked: “It’s disgusting these woke lefties mean we can’t dead-name a mountain now.

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“Makes me sick.”

The host then responded: “Wales’ highest mountain Snowdon may soon only be called by its Welsh name.

“I believe the correct pronunciation of the mountain is, I’m going to have a go at it, wish me luck. Snowdon.”

The cameras then cut to the other panellists once again, who were all laughing.

BBC licence fee increase is slammed by hosts

One person said during the BBC 2 repeat: “BBC Two why have you repeated #hignfy with the insulting comments about the Welsh Language.

“Kirsty Wark and Alexander Armstrong should be ashamed of themselves but it’s the #BBC that’s broadcasted it twice.”

Another user added: “I believe Alexander Armstrong also thought it was amusing on Pointless a while back. Please, @richardosman, pass the message on that it’s unacceptable to mock the Welsh language.”

And someone else wrote: “Shame on you Alexander Armstrong for going along with it.”

Ms Wark later apologised for Alexander’s comments following the Twitter backlash.

She wrote: “Lovely @haveigotnews viewers, no disrespect to the Welsh language intended I assure you…or my fellow Celts.”

However, Mr Armstrong has not acknowledged his comments publicly since the show was aired.

Last month, director general Tim Davie warned the BBC currently faces a “significant risk” and has “no inalienable right to exist”.

He added the corporation needs to “evolve to protect” its audience.

Mr Davie said: “If current trends continue, we will not feel indispensable enough to all our audience.

“We must evolve to protect what we cherish.”

Express.co.uk has contacted the BBC for a comment.

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