This is to add a bit more context to this post about the topics covered, during a podcast appearance (by Maisie Adam) talking about best and worst panel show appearances.

There were a couple of things said that I felt were worth expanding on. And I may have gotten a little carried away…

Firstly – I do like Maisie, as both a comedian and a panellist, so I’m just using her interview as a jumping off point for a broader discussion. Secondly – I am aware that the UK comedy circuit is not a very female friendly place and that there have been many complaints, regarding certain promotors / venues getting handsy or expecting favours for a mic spot.

This is just about presenting some information as to how “balanced” UK panel shows are (are women at a disadvantage?). Cold, hard facts over feelings are always my preference.

And…let’s not forget that Jo Brand was on panel shows WAY before Sara or anyone else.

See also more background details, on tapings of shows that Jimmy has hosted, in Professionalism (as a TV host) – here.

8 Out of 10 Cats

First discussion was that, on 8 Out of 10 Cats, it had been “elbows out” and people were trying to get in gags that they had written.

I may have picked up a stronger interpretation than intended, but mentioning Sara Pascoe’s level of support and experience as being the “only woman in the line-up” made it sound like she was talked over (her description) by the male panellists (on this show) just because she was female.

I’ve not been in her situation (her first panel show) but, from what I’ve seen and read, British panel shows are competitive and, regardless of who you are, if someone has a good joke, they are going to want to get it in.

She acknowledge that Jimmy tried to draw her in but I think it’s wrong to suggest that it’s only females that struggle, when making first appearances on shows. It just so happens that I’ve recently posted about the experiences of Stewart Lee (here), Sam Buttery (here) and Daniel Sloss (here) – all on this same show.

Big Fat Quiz

The topic is from Maisie’s comments about how guilty the Big Fat Quiz is of being a “bloke fest” and that the only woman in the line-up might be someone like Claudia Winkleman (not a comedian).

She said that someone like Roman Kemp (male, none comedian) wouldn’t get invited on…and yet when I have a quick scan of BFQ panellists – what about Jason Donovan, Warwick Davis, Simon Pegg and Gordon Ramsay? I think we can discount that angle of criticism.

The Big Fat Quiz is Jonathan and Jimmy’s baby and they make the best show they can, based on who is available on the day. They are going to want the biggest names possible (because you want to get good audience numbers) and Claudia is ALWAYS a popular guest.

Jonathan has admitted there have been times when someone has dropped out last minute and he’s had to slot himself in. On occasions when he’s had to do this social media has erupted with “why is he on again”. An example of how there’s a lot of emotive reaction around this topic and not all of it is rational! Would they prefer an empty seat?

But, thinking from the perspective of who has created the viral moments. The BFQ storm offs, dancing, interactions with Mr Blobby, bringing on a picnic, trying to take over Jimmy’s podium, cheating with mobile phones – the ones that spring into my mind were all men trying to one-up each other by joking, roasting, bantering (any means necessary).

Yes, they can be like attention seeking toddlers – but, so long as it’s funny, who cares?

As an example, the other way – there was one recent BFQ with an all-female team that fixated on finding out, from a mystery guest, where she’d bought her top from. I didn’t laugh.

Basically, since Me Too / DEI initiatives etc. BBC / C4’s shows have frequently had their line-ups built by a quota and if you read the comments under any YouTube video episode or montage you can see exactly how well this is going down.

The audience consensus seems to be that when you listen to groups shouting “we want to be represented” the show that you end up with is universally deemed to be “not as funny”.

If we’re not careful the current BFQ format of having 3 teams of 2 might have to be extended to a dozen teams…to fit everyone in.

Jimmy Carr: Positive Discrimination Needed, 2015

Following on from that – this is possibly the only time I’ve been on completely the opposite side of the opinion fence, to Jimmy.

BBC Newsbeat reported in 2015 (here) that he’d said that women “change the balance” on programmes, affecting “how everyone interacts” for the better.

When the BBC announced that QI and HIGNFY were banned from having all-male line-ups Jimmy had said:

“I think it’s a big deal, I think it’s important. It’s a hugely positive thing. It’s that thing where you say you have to have a bit of positive discrimination to push it forward a little bit.”

He’s clearly a much nicer person than I am because I’m really not a fan of anything other than “best person for the job”. I don’t want discrimination any way up.

I understand his perspective (expressed in other interviews) that new blood needs to be brought through…but some shows are really suffering for it, if the balance is not right. See Tough Crowd, below.

All Female Cats Countdown, 2018

Jimmy showing his feminist credentials again by stepping completely stepping aside, for his female friends.

To celebrate the centennial of women having the right to vote S16 Ep1 of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown was an all-woman show.

Jonathan Ross Salary, 2018

2018 and Jonathan was about to sign up for Roast Battle UK (here) and Katherine Ryan said:

When Jonathan joined for the second series, he approached me and said ‘How much are you getting paid for this, because I won’t do it if I’m earning more than you”. That’s the first time a man has ever said this. He took the initiative and I really appreciate it.

Now that you’ve read these paragraphs about Jimmy / Jonathan – did you know any of that? Funny how stories about sexism / misogyny make it to clickbait headlines, but the nice stories tend to only be on smaller publications and get lost in the bad news.

And BFQ was the show that Maisie seemed most critical of…and yet it’s made by the 2 men that are the most supportive of ALL of their colleagues.

Tough Crowd

Linear TV is massively in decline, the BBC has lost half a million license fee payers this year and, when you look at BARB Top 50 shows – the #1 is usually around 4-5 million and the bottom end hovering around 2m. Not great numbers.

It’s time consuming to try to research the viewing numbers on the shows below but I think looking at the YouTube data (for full episodes) is a good substitute. The other indicator, of success, would be whether they get recommissioned.

After the success of LOL UK U&Dave launched Silence Is Golden (with Dermot O’Leary, Katherine Ryan, Fatiha El-Ghorri and Seann Walsh) that they had hoped would find a similar audience. After an enormous fanfare it was dropped after S1 and, as you can see from this playlist, the episodes on YouTube are getting 6 or 7,000 views (after Ep1 got 43,000, YT viewers didn’t return).

Sara Pascoe had a longer run (3 series) with Comedians Giving Lectures (here) but was that because they tempted some big names onto the show? See playlist here. Note how some have only had a couple of thousand views – but the Frankie Boyle episode is at 666k. I’m sure that number would tickle him. It’s one of those pesky blokes again.

David Mitchell also managed 3 series, with Outsiders, but this was initially paused in 2023 (DM was too busy) and then shelved in 2025. It has a playlist on YT (here) and a number of them achieved over 50k views, but it never quite caught fire. David is popular on WILTY but has yet to succeed with hosting a show. If you’ve never seen it – you must check out Was It Something I Said? (here).

U&Dave tried something slightly bizarre in 2025 with Clash of the Comics (playlist here) with comedians wrestling. My only thought is…why?

Joe Wilkinson’s Training It (which you would think was quite niche) is hitting over 900k per episode (playlist here).

8 Out of 10 Cats clips are available on both the dedicated channel and Jimmy’s own. If you view this playlist (and click on popular) the top video is at 994k and was only posted a year ago. This show ended in 2020 (22 series) after Jon / Sean decided to only do Cats Countdown and audience numbers dwindled when the show moved to having a 1 male / 1 female captain format (wasn’t popular).

C4 has some peculiar most viewed videos in its YT channel (here) and 13^th place is and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown compilation, with 4.3m.

Are men funnier than women?

If you’ve got this far then you may be frothing at the mouth and disagreeing with me. That’s fine. I’m just interpreting information that I’ve picked up along the way.

The TV industry gets to see reactions to shows (and their viewing figures) and if they don’t change to suit their audience…well, it’s only entertainment. No one died.

Anyway – are men funnier than women?

Male comedians do tend to fit within the gender stereotype of being more likely to develop their humourous skills to use as a defence mechanism (please like me – I’m funny), a bonding method (can I be in the group?), to signal a higher mental fitness (study in Science Direct) or as something to attract women.

Males ARE considered funnier in society (again, Science Direct) and more men make it to the big leagues.

These YouTube numbers (here) are from my June 2026 post and the only woman on the list is Sarah Millican.

I did have quite a few ladies in my list, to start with, but had to remove some because they didn’t use the same platforms as everyone else (Nikki Glaser, Whitney Cummings) which meant I couldn’t compare their accounts to the group. Some had podcast channels but didn’t have “personal” channels, that showcased their stand-up.

Others were dropped off my list because their numbers were at the low end. To give you an example of what I mean – take a quick look at some of the Brit comic YouTube account subs from today:

• Sara Pascoe – no channel
• Maisie Adam – 8,300
• Judi love – 16,470
• Katherine Ryan – 19,052
• Dara O’Briain – 75,309
• Paul Chowdhry – 137,033
• James Acaster – 190,788
• Sarah Millican – 628,011
• Ricky Gervais – 767,000
• Jack Whitehall – 1,299,962
• Russell Howard – 1,509,705
• Jimmy Carr – 2,060,001

If you want to look up an account yourself – try this counter.

Comedy is subjective so, if you prefer female comics, that’s fine. I regularly watch Sarah Millican’s shows – but am not quite a big enough fan to buy a ticket.

Which is all it comes down to really.

Who would you buy tickets to go and see? Whose TV appearances would you put into your series planner or YT favs? Who makes you switch off?

I just think we should stop watering down our comedy shows.

With all that’s going on in the world – we need more laughter.