Forty years on, has Channel 4 lost the plot?-Keith Watson-Entertainment – Metro

Is it having a midlife crisis? (Picture: PA)

When former culture secretary Nadine Dorries declared war on Channel 4, I was more than ready to take to the barricades in its defence.

Over four decades, the UK’s most consistently innovative channel had carved a unique place in my TV heart. It stood out from the crowd with its offbeat approach and readiness to rock the status quo. From Shameless to Big Brother to Peep Show, C4 set the pace, it didn’t follow it.

But standing out from the crowd in the TV landscape of 2022 is very different from how it was back in 1982 when Channel 4 increased TV options for UK viewers by 25%.

Yes, kids, there was a time when getting a new channel to play with was a mighty big deal.

Now, in a flailing bid to stand out, Channel 4 looks, sad to say, to have lost the plot.

Jimmy Carr Destroys Art is just one C4’s bone-headed offerings (Picture: Channel 4)

Turning 40 is never easy, but the channel’s equivalent of growing an ill-advised ponytail and buying a Harley has been an increasingly wayward, not to say bone-headed, raft of offerings, stretching from Jimmy Carr Destroys Art by way of Afghanistan’s Top Porn Star and (gulp) My Massive C***.

It’s the scheduling equivalent of a sad middle-aged bloke trying to prove he’s still edgy by getting a Prince Albert and then trapping his bits in his zip.

We should have seen this crisis of confidence coming with Naked Attraction, the least sexy sex show ever made, coming back again and again.

Then again, maybe the rot set in when the channel poached The Great British Bake Off from the BBC. Channel 4 was meant to be all about innovation and new talent, not nicking ratings-bait franchises off the big channels.

More: Channel 4

Yes, cakes mean viewers, but it was indicative of Channel 4 losing a grip on what it was really about. Is it all about cosy cookery shows and Phil and Kirstie flogging houses, or is it still about pushing the envelope?

It all boils down to an identity crisis. What is Channel 4 for any more? I’d like to say three cheers to another 40 years, but if it’s basing its future on Jimmy Carr waving a monster c*** around in search of bogus outrage then maybe the plug should be pulled.

What’s your opinion?

Text the word VIEWS followed by your comment, name and where you live to 65700. Standard network charges apply.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : Dame Prue Leith addresses Great British Bake Off’s controversial Mexican-themed week after cultural appropriation complaints

MORE : I was on Channel 4’s My Massive C*** – here’s what the show left out

MORE : Theo James sends fans wild with naked changing scene in The White Lotus season 2: ‘I was not prepared to see his penis!’

Entertainment – MetroRead More