Victoria Coren Mitchell takes aim at the BBC in Only Connect 1970s quip: ‘Unreservedly apologise’
Only Connect presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell made a risky dig at the BBC on the latest episode of the difficult quiz show, which aired on Monday.
The 52-year-old presenter added to her running jokes about AI-generated introductions to the show, with the most recent episode alluding to historic scandals at the BBC.
Welcoming viewers to the show, Coren Mitchell stated: “I tell you what, last chance for the BBC AI generator.
“What I’ve always tried to do with this show is re-create event telly, you know, the big family shows, from the glory days of BBC light entertainment, the 1970s and ’80s.
“So I typed “1970s and ’80s” into the AI generator. Let’s see what we get.”
The TV presenter proceed to read aloud the opening sentence of the “AI” introduction: “‘The BBC would like to unreservedly apologise for an inexcusable culture of…'” before she trailed off awkwardly, adding: “On we go.”
The joke seemed to allude to some historic scandals associated with the broadcaster.
It’s not the first time Coren Mitchell has made what could be deemed an inappropriate joke, with a recent comment about Michael Portillo.
In an episode that aired last month, the host made another joke about her attraction to Michael Portillo – a topic she’s discussed before.
As she signed off the December instalment, she commented: “Coming up next on BBC Two is another episode in that wonderful series sponsored by the RSPB, where celebrities look after birds before handing them on to other celebrities to raise awareness of struggling avian numbers.”
She went on: “I have so enjoyed watching the big names of BBC Two passing their feathered dependents onto other presenters that I’ve decided to join in myself.
“Tonight, I will eagerly be taking several swallows from Michael Portillo.”
Viewers were stunned by the racy joke, with many complaining online and one viewer going as far as to say they had been left “traumatised”.
It seems she often causes a stir online too, with her appearance change mid-episode causing a flurry of online remarks last week.
As she opened the show, her nails were clearly polished in a bright red as she spoke, once again reading out an “AI-generated” introduction.
Strangely though, in the next clip, the presenter had bare nails despite being in the same outfit.
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Eagle-eyed viewers quickly caught on to the inconsistency and discussed it on social media.
Coren Mitchell responded to one post, offering a potential explanation.
She penned: “What was the intro? There was one where I had to record a whole different start on a different day because I made a joke about Strictly which spooked the powers that be.
“Sounds like must have been this one!”