David Mitchell says the term “mansplaining” is unfair as he believes it’s simply “conversation”.
The Ludwig star suggested the phrase was inaccurate as men also “do it to each other” – not just to members of the opposite sex.
“I feel there’s an unfairness to the term ‘mansplaining’, which is taken to be men explaining things in a boring way to women,” Mitchell told The Sunday Times.
“Because they do it to each other and they take turns, that’s what men call a conversation.”
“Mansplaining” is the phrase used to describe men explaining something to a woman, often in a patronising or condescending manner.
Mitchell, who is married to Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell, starred in the award-winning Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show from 2003 to 2015 with his comedy partner Robert Webb.
They also appeared in the Bafta-winning That Mitchell and Webb Look, which ended in 2010 after four series on BBC Two – and the duo have reunited for their first sketch show in more than a decade.
Mitchell said he hoped the result – Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping – will save the genre from what he said has been a neglect of sketch shows in recent years.
“It has been resting but there is still a beep on the machine so let’s hope it is ready to get up and eat a hearty meal,” he said.
“It’s slightly odd that it stopped. The short amusing item that hopefully doesn’t outstay its welcome is quite a major part of TV comedy. It has continued on the internet in a low budget way but it has been abandoned by TV.”
Channel 4 has not aired a sketch series since 2014’s Cardinal Burns, which was co-created by Dustin Demri-Burns, who has gone on to appear in Stath Lets Flats and Slow Horses.
Mitchell and Webb said of the new show: “When Channel 4 asked us to do another sketch show we were startled, bemused and available. It’s a perilous time for the industry and so it’s our hope that relaunching the trickiest genre of comedy is a brilliant piece of counterintuitive commissioning.”
The show will air on Channel 4 in September.
SNL’s Devon Walker calls show ‘sometimes toxic as hell’ as he announces exit
Netflix cancels one of summer 2025’s most popular shows
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins champion says they’ve quit alcohol after victory
Clarkson’s Farm sparks influx of agricultural college applications
Downton Abbey creator says it’s ‘hard to believe’ Maggie Smith detail about show
