‘Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’: UK’s Sky Airs Monarchy Segment, Saving Viewers From 25-Minute Winston Churchill/Benny Hill Waterslide Gag
deadline.comUK-based fans of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver were spared a 25-minute clip of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill going backwards down a waterslide, set to the theme of The Benny Hill Show.
The HBO host had dared British broadcaster Sky to cut his segment on the British monarchy, saying that he would replace it with the repetitive comedy clip if the Comcast-owned company did so.
Sky decided against the cut and viewers got to see the segment. “To a degree that Americans may not realize the monarchy isn’t a universally beloved institution,” the Brit said last night before pointing to some Scottish and Irish football fans chanting “Lizzie’s in a box” at games. “You can make the case that that is in bad taste.
You can also make the case that it’s very funny. Two things can be true,” he said. “Even we got into trouble when Sky TV in the UK cut a couple of fairly benign jokes that we did when she died.
Read more on deadline.com
