Matt Forde (The Royal Variety Performance, Spitting Image, Have I Got News For You, British Scandal) is set to host The Matt Forde Focus Group, his first series for BBC Radio 4. Launching on Thursday 22nd May at 6.30pm, the 6 x 28” political comedy series will see Matt raid his contacts list, convening his own personal Focus Group of politicians, comedians and experts to examine the most pertinent contemporary issues of the day and their underlying themes.
Forde said: "This is a show I’ve wanted to make for ages. As well as being a good laugh, it will be an antidote to hearing the same old voices having the same old arguments. I want to showcase intelligent, impassioned people who can also laugh at themselves – and, where appropriate, at each other”
Meanwhile, in Matt’s Political Party podcast which he has hosted since 2013, he brings Parliament to life through stand-up and lively debate with some of politics’ most powerful figures, including Keir Starmer, Nicola Sturgeon, Tony Blair, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Angela Rayner, Michael Heseltine, Anthony Scaramucci, Alastair Campbell, Gordon Brown and Gary Neville. After an 18-month hiatus due to his bone cancer diagnosis, Matt has resumed his West End residency of the live edition and will record three live episodes at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with guests to be announced. The show has amassed over 11 million downloads, earned multiple nominations from award bodies including the British Podcast Awards and Chortle Awards, and is regularly featured as a top podcast pick in the press.
Elsewhere in the world of audio, Matt co-hosts Wondery’s flagship British Podcast Award-winning British Scandal alongside Alice Levine, as well as the Down The Dog podcast with Jon Richardson. He also presents Rock ‘n’ Roll Football, a weekly show on Absolute Radio.
Matt is currently on his biggest tour to date with his stand-up show, The End of an Era Tour, which was heralded the best-reviewed Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedy show (topping 1,638 others, per the British Comedy Guide). This August, he will return to the Fringe with a new hour Defying Calamity, in which he explores finding positivity in life despite the rising tide of populism in the UK, the actions of Donald Trump, and his own ongoing health battles.
Matt has written and voiced characters including Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer and Donald Trump for Spitting Image (BritBox/ITV). He has hosted four series of Unspun with Matt Forde on Dave, receiving several nominations at the Broadcast Digital Awards, and has numerous other broadcast credits including: Have I Got News For You (BBC One), The Royal Variety Performance (ITV), Mock The Week (BBC Two), 8 out of 10 Cats (Channel 4), Hypothetical (Dave) Rory Bremner’s Coalition Report and Rory Bremner’s Election Report (BBC Two), Question Time (BBC One), This Week (BBC One), Newsnight (BBC Two) and Daily Politics (BBC Two).
The Matt Forde Focus Group is an Avalon production. Executive Producer is Jon Thoday for Avalon. Producer is Richard Garvin. The Commissioning Editor is Julia McKenzie for BBC Radio 4.
The Matt Forde Focus Group first airs on Thursday 22nd May at 6.30pm on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
