John Bishop’s much-heralded new chat show The John Bishop Show made its debut on ITV last night (Saturday, June 8) and of course the armchair critics were clamouring to deliver their verdict.
The comedian looked very assured in his new home, the set of which looked like it was supplied by Homebase and hastily cobbled together by the show runner, as he interviewed James Nesbitt about his Netflix drama Stay Close and nattered to fellow comic Sarah Millican about things other than cake.
And, overwhelmingly, viewers appeared to be lapping up the chat – just take a look at a sample of the praise on Twitter:
- “Starting my Sunday watching #TheJohnBishopShow again , really fab series opener last night, great guests & John hosting.
- “Omg this first episode of The John Bishop Show was FABULOUS…. you guys had me crying with laughter …. So funny … can’t wait for the next one ….”
- “Honestly I needed these giggles tonight! I live alone so my neighbours must think I’m mad.”
- “Just watched #thejohnbishopshow what an absolute legend, haven’t laughed so much in ages! Can’t wait to see him live in March, his wit is nectar for the soul.”
Among the fans, some were also delighted that they were being served up some adult humour – which included a picture of a cat giving cunnilingus to a wool doll, and fan art of John having sex with a 6′ 4″ dog. (It was a very cute dog.)
“Filth klaxon,” one viewer said, weeping with laughter.
Another blamed it on Sarah: “You can always rely on Sarah Millican to lower the tone.”
A third appraised: “I didn’t predict it being so risque but that just made it funnier.”
Not everyone loved it, though.
One viewer claimed John paled in comparison to veterans of the genre: “When you think how the proper chat show hosts do it, this is well below par.”
Another felt he was too domineering: “It underlines that being an interviewer is a very separate skill set to being a gregarious and entertaining guest.
“Awkward at times when he hogged the limelight and airtime and his guests seemed more like observers.”
Read more: Mixed reaction to John Bishop as new Doctor Who sidekick
He also came under fire for spoiling the result of that evening’s The Masked Singer for viewers who’d presumably been down the pub or doing some squats and hadn’t yet had chance to tune in.
These very viewers complained on Twitter – at the same time the results of The Masked Singer were trending. On Twitter.
One moaned: “Not watched #TheMaskedSinger tonight and was going to watch it tomorrow but watching @JohnBishop100 who told everyone who went out and who it was, that’s that ruined then.”
And another wrote: “@ITV why did John Bishop just spoil the result of Masked Singer??”
Read more: How old is John Bishop and how many kids does he have?
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