Matt Forde to launch political comedy series on BBC Radio 4

Matt Forde will host his first BBC Radio 4 series, The Matt Forde Focus Group, starting on Thursday 22 May at 6.30pm.

The six-part political comedy series will feature Forde in conversation with politicians, comedians and subject experts, discussing current issues and the ideas behind them.

Forde described the show as something he has wanted to make for a long time and said, “As well as being a good laugh, it will be an antidote to hearing the same old voices having the same old arguments. I want to showcase intelligent, impassioned people who can also laugh at themselves – and, where appropriate, at each other.”

Matt Forde is a well-known political satirist and comedian whose TV and radio appearances include Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, Spitting Image, and The Royal Variety Performance. He wrote and voiced characters including Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer and Donald Trump for Spitting Image.

He also hosted four series of Unspun with Matt Forde on Dave and has featured across BBC and ITV current affairs programmes including Question Time, Newsnight and Daily Politics.

His podcast, The Political Party, launched in 2013, has had more than 11 million downloads and featured high-profile political guests including Tony Blair, Angela Rayner and Jacob Rees-Mogg. After a break due to his bone cancer diagnosis, he has resumed his West End residency and will record three episodes live at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Forde is currently touring with his stand-up show The End of an Era Tour, and will debut a new hour, Defying Calamity, at the Fringe this August.

The Matt Forde Focus Group is produced by Avalon, with Richard Garvin as Producer, Jon Thoday as Executive Producer, and Julia McKenzie as Commissioning Editor for BBC Radio 4.