The comic appeared in court on Monday (October 15) for the opening day of his week-long jury trial against Mirror Group Newspapers, publisher of The Mirror.
© Rex Features
On July 19 last year, the newspaper published an article with the headline "Channel 4: We are back on the Boyle".
Boyle said that he was defamed by the article as it accused him of being a "racist comedian", and claimed that he had been "forced to quit" the BBC Two comedy show Mock the Week over a controversial joke about the swimmer Rebecca Adlington.
The article, which claimed that Channel 4 was considering commissioning a new show featuring Boyle, featured the sub-header: "New show for vile comic."
It opened with: "Racist comedian Frankie Boyle could soon be returning to TV despite upsetting thousands of viewers with his sick jokes."
The Guardian reports that the lawyer representing Boyle said in court today that the comic's reputation had been severely damaged by the article, and so he was seeking vindication and damages from Mirror Group Newspapers.
David Sherborne, for Boyle, said: "Calling him vile and offensive is one thing. It goes with the territory. But accusing him of being a racist is an entirely different matter."
He added: "His complaint is that he has been very seriously libelled by being called a racist, which is completely untrue. There is no ambiguity here. Mr Boyle is no racist."
But Mirror Group Newspapers stands by its accusation of racism, and the court heard that the publisher intends to use examples of Boyle's jokes, including material from his Channel 4 show Tramadol Nights, to prove the allegation.
The trial continues.
