DAR AL HARB - U.K.: "THE INFIDEL HAD IT COOMIN', THA KNOWS"

Boom-boom: suicide bomb joker gets slot at the Beeb
Dipesh Gadher, Media Correspondent

AN Anglo-Iranian comedian who sends up Osama Bin Laden and cracks jokes about suicide bombers has been given a prime-time show on BBC1.

The broadcaster admits it is taking “a gamble” on Omid Djalili and acknowledges that his “provocative” material may be “uncomfortable” for some viewers.

Djalili, the son of Iranian immigrants, once parodied the Yorkshire-born 7/7 bombers in a sketch in which he acted out strapping on explosives to the tune of the Hovis bread commercials.

“The infidel had it coomin’, tha knows,” he joked.

His new television show, which is likely to be aired in the coveted 9.30pm Friday night slot from September, makes repeated reference to the war on terror, as well as covering topics such as school-run mums clogging the roads in their 4x4s.

Peter Fincham, the controller of BBC1, said: “It’s a gamble, but I think it’s good to be close to the bone.”

Fincham, who is at the centre of the row over the BBC’s misrepresentation of footage of the Queen, added: “He’s a very funny man – and it’s unique that he’s British-Iranian.”

One sketch features Djalili playing a Scotsman fresh out of film school who finds himself directing Bin Laden in an Al-Qaeda propaganda video.

In another role-reversal, he plays a suburb-dwelling Crusader who becomes incensed when his daughter introduces him to her new Arab boyfriend.

Djalili is thought to be “surprised” by the amount of leeway he has been given by the BBC.

However, controversial material could still be pulled from the show in the event of a new terrorist outrage. “We’ll be sensitive to what’s going on in the world,” said Kenton Allen, creative head of BBC comedy.

Djalili, 41, who was born and raised in London, took to the stand-up comedy circuit in the mid1990s. His act radically changed after the 9/11 attacks.

“I felt I had to address issues such as why did it happen? How can we understand the fundamentalist mindset? With suicide bombing, it’s why do they do it? I would never condone it, but I explain that the idea of dying for a noble cause and promulgating your ideology is programmed into some people.”

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