Nigel Farage has spoken out against Channel 4 for a “totally sick” scene in the comedy Year of The Rabbit that shows a right-wing campaigner named Neil Fromage being shot in the head.
The Brexit party leader called the moment in the Matt Berry-starring spoof show, in which the character of Fromage is killed while giving an anti-immigration speech, “totally sick and frankly irresponsible”.
Speaking to the Daily Star on Sunday, Farage went on to attack the network: “With Channel 4, we have reached a point where they are so partisan politically in everything they do that they now consistently go beyond what’s acceptable.”
The comedy about a policeman romping swearily around rat-ridden Victorian London was described by the Guardian review as “a heady mix of period detail, gleeful anachronism and baroque profanity”.
In the assassination scene, Fromage takes to a soapbox and says: “Immigrants infest this city they do … like a cancer. And if they take over, you can be sure of one thing.” “Far better restaurants?” a character in the crowd interjects. “Blood, blood, blood.”
Farage’s outrage comes weeks after his fury at comedian Jo Brand, who made a gag on BBC Radio 4 show Heresy about the recent incident at which a milkshake was thrown over him: “Why bother with a milkshake when you could get some battery acid?” The BBC said Brand’s jokes were “deliberately provocative”, as the show’s title suggests.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: “Year of the Rabbit is a purposefully outrageous and heightened comedy set in Victorian-era London featuring exaggerated and ridiculous fictional characters and in this context it is clear to viewers that the actions of these characters – be they grave robbers, murderous historical preservation enthusiasts or serial killer politicians – are preposterous and not to be taken seriously.”
The episode will air on Monday at 10pm.
