Yeah, I second the concerns of it turning into a boys' club. I really like Sarah Millican too. Someone referred to Jo Brand before, and she's always great when she turns up on QI, but one of her defining attributes is her ability to undercut a lot of the macho atmosphere.
Have to say though, while its true that good old fashioned misogyny emphasises the unfunny female comics over the unfunny male ones (just look at the plethora of really nasty YouTube comments, for instance) there is something ultra-boysy and competitive about the comic quiz format that doesn't often lend itself well to comediennes. That might be a bit of a Germaine Greer argument but I still think there's some truth in it, since the encouragement of one-upping 'opponents' places it a lot closer to sport than a collaborative experience. I suppose if you take a chat show like Loose Women - okay it's not a comedy format but a lot of people watch it because they find the hosts funny - it's based around a more feminine style of conversation based on listening, and co-operation to try to be entertaining together, rather than the masculine competition style of conversation in these quiz formats, where one is simply 'waiting to talk'.
What d'you think? Is that a sexist or patronising differentiation?
"And no regrets?"
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