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British celebrity panel show

Mock the Week is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presented by Dara Ó Briain, he and Hugh Dennis appeared in every episode, with a variety of other stand up comedians being regular or guest panellists during the show's history. The format of the programme saw six comedians divided into two teams and performing on a faux game show, in which the quiz aspect of answering questions relating to major and regional news items, all taken from the week before each episode's filming, is sidelined to focus on satirical, topical discussions on news items, stand up routines, and the use of improvisational comedy. Every series also included a compilation episode featuring notable scenes, out takes and additional footage cut out after filming, with repeats of episodes being frequently shown on the channel Dave, with high viewing figures.

The panellists were primarily comedians, including stand up comedians, many of whom made multiple appearances. Hugh Dennis appeared in all episodes since the show's premiere in 2005, except for a special episode broadcast as part of David Walliams' 24 Hour Panel People. Alongside Dennis and Ó Briain, others appeared as regular panellists, including Rory Bremner (Series 1 and 2), Frankie Boyle (Series 1 to 7), Andy Parsons (Series 3 to 14), Russell Howard (Series 4 to 9), Chris Addison (Series 10 to 12) and Angela Barnes (Series 21).

On several occasions, Mock the Week has been the source of complaints, due to some risqué comments made by the panellists and the show's extreme use of profanity (particularly during Frankie Boyle's tenure). In the first episode of Series 4, during a segment called "What The Queen Didn't Say in Her Christmas Message", Boyle made the comment: "I am now so old that my pussy is haunted." This led to the BBC's director general Mark Thompson being challenged about the comments on Newsnight. Boyle later quipped "That was three years ago. If it wasn't haunted then it certainly is now." In 2008, a larger controversy arose following another comment made by Boyle regarding swimmer Rebecca Adlington. Boyle stated that "she looks like someone who's looking at themselves in the back of a spoon". The BBC ruled that the jokes were indeed "humiliating" and "risked offending the audience", while also calling Boyle "a brilliant member of the team". Despite this, Adlington's agent said that simply admitting mistakes was not enough, saying: "By giving Frankie Boyle a rebuke they fail to discourage others from doing the same." After leaving the show, Boyle criticised both the show's production team and the BBC Trust. He claims that the show did not cover enough major news stories and was too restrictive on his risqué comedy act, as the producers and the BBC Trust were afraid of "frightening the horses". The lack of female guests on the programme has been the subject of complaints in the letters page of the Radio Times. Jo Brand, while criticising the male dominated genre of comedy panel shows, said in 2009, "I don't do Mock the Week anymore and neither do some male stand ups I know who have tried it once. We just don't like the prospect of having to bite someone's foot off before they let us say something." In 2013, former panelist Rory Bremner stated his reasons for leaving the show, saying: "I felt that there was a new and highly competitive and quite aggressive tendency there and felt uncomfortable. But I've since found out that very few people have felt comfortable doing Mock the Week." He also criticised the way comedians like Linda Smith were treated by new comedians, who "are like prize fighters".

On 26 November 2007, the show's first DVD Mock the Week: Too Hot for TV was released by Spirit Entertainment. It contains a DVD exclusive compilation feature containing unseen footage, in addition to three extended episodes from series five, containing scenes that were considered too rude for broadcast. The three extended episodes are entitled, 'Putin, Henman & Konnie Huq', 'Nuts, Pies and Nim Nim Nim' and 'Money, Sex and The Lib Dems'. On 9 November 2009, Mock the Week: Too Hot for TV 2 was released once again by Sprit Entertainment. Again, the DVD contains the main 'Too Hot For TV' feature with a compilation of unseen footage, plus three extended episodes from the series archives titled, 'The Anal Lube Show', 'The Leg Show' and 'The Hedgehog Show'. The extended episodes have a total of more than 40 minutes of unseen material. Audio CD versions of both DVDs are available. On 8 November 2010, Mock the Week: Too Hot for TV 3 was released, once more by Spirit. Like the previous two, this DVD features an hour long smut reel and three extended episodes titled 'The Elves and Testicles Show', 'The Prisons and Other Dodgy Stuff Show', and 'The Johnny Blowjob and Bird Flu Show'.

A US version is set to premiere on Amazon Freevee with Trevor Noah and Patterson as executive producers.