Dame Andrea Jenkyns has launched a scathing attack on the BBC after being targeted on the comedy quiz show Have I Got News for You, claiming the audience was “selected” and “biased”.
The former Conservative minister faced an uncomfortable exchange with panelist Ian Hislop as she delivered her verdict on former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
After telling the panel that she believes Johnson was “one of our better Prime Ministers”, the audience immediately booed Jenkyns, to which she jibed that the broadcaster had “selected the audience”.
Hislop hit back, swiping: “You can’t just say ‘you’ve selected the audience’, you’ve got no evidence for that, no proof, it’s just b*****ks.. This isn’t GB News.”
Dame Andrea Jenkyns has hit out at the BBC after her appearance on Have I Got News for You
GB News / BBC
Recalling her experience on the show on GB News, Jenkyns told host Mark Dolan that she was “booed as she walked on stage”, before the show had even started recording.
Jenkyns explained: “One by one you walk into the audience and they all walked into lots of cheers – I walked into lots of boos, being a Tory MP.
“But you expect this. When you’ve done Newsnight, Question Time… I got booed on Question Time a few years ago during the Brexit years.”
Mark was in disbelief, telling Jenkyns that that audience reaction was “all the evidence she needed” to know that the BBC had picked a “left wing audience”.
The former Tory MP’s claims that the BBC audience was ‘selected’ were shut down by the show’s stars
BBC
In defence of the broadcaster, Jenkyns admitted that everyone behind the scenes of the show was “very professional”, including Hislop, who butted heads with her during the show.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Jenkyns told GB News: “Behind the scenes was amazing, actually. Everyone was supportive, you meet the panelists and the one you’re pairing up with and actually, Ian was very professional – he was quite kind.
“You actually have a dressing room, which I’ve never had before, and they put some tea on for you, so it was great.”
Praising Jenkyns’s appearance on the show, Mark joked that Hislop’s jibe at GB News was “free advertisement” for the channel, and that she handled the situation with “dignity”.
Mark said: “Look, Dame Andrea, we’re mates, but I will say that I thought you were brilliant on Have I Got News for You.
Jenkyns claimed she was booed as she walked onto set, before the show started recording
GB News
“I thought you were dignified, I thought you had dry humour, and I thought you handled yourself brilliantly in a very hostile environment.”
Mark added: “I’d like to thank Ian Hislop for the plug, for the advert for the channel too, we’re clearly living rent free in his head.
“Berating a woman for daring to have Conservative beliefs and liking Boris Johnson.
“And of course, giving a namecheck to GB News, they’re obsessed with us, aren’t they?”
