Herring: 'Radio regulation increasing'

Richard Herring has complained about the increasing regulations on radio shows since Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand's controversial phonecall to Andrew Sachs.

The comedian told Metro that greater censorship was the reason for his new series of online gigs, which are written on Sunday, performed on Monday and released as a podcast on Tuesday.

He said: "Radio shows can take two years to get on air and there are so many restrictions about content now. Most people don't need nannying in that way.

"It's got worse since the Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand thing but even on my last show, there were battles. I wasn't allowed to use Schopenhauer's quote about history being a whore with syphilis as it was deemed offensive."

He added: "I'm enjoying being able to do what I want. Execs rather than creative people commission TV and radio comedy. There's a lot of stuff which isn't very good. Sketch shows are very samey and sitcoms are fairly crappy.

"I can be more contentious. I want to make people laugh, not offend them. The show Hitler's Moustache is only offensive to racist people."

Earlier this year, stand-up Ross Noble claimed that the furore after Ross and Brand's phonecalls has resulted in bland comedy on TV.