www.silverguide.site –

‘You know who we don’t see enough of on British TV? Romesh Ranganathan,” said no one ever. That’s not meant as a slight to the man – who this year has hosted programmes for the BBC, Amazon and Sky, recorded another run of Parents’ Evening for ITV and is to appear on The Celebrity Traitors – but he truly is inescapable. There is an obvious reason for his cameo on this new comedy panel show, which is that it is made for TLC by his production company Ranga Bee. And what an appearance it is. If you have ever wanted to see Ranganathan go full misanthrope and refuse to give an exhausted NHS midwife £500 because the royal family needs it more, then roll up: you’re in the right place.

Unacceptable is – for reasons that aren’t totally clear – a panel show in which comedians defend their worst opinions in front of a studio audience, who are unlikely to agree with their horrible (and horribly confected) views. Ed Gamble hosts, putting in a typically professional stint, but then again Gamble is as unflappable as Ranganathan is ubiquitous, a whirlwind of sarcastic ad libs and hairspray.

Richard Ayoade and Joanne McNally are the team captains. Ayoade does his usual deadpan thing and McNally leans into her strain of entertaining oversharing. Except, because this is Unacceptable, she has to say things such as: “I almost bought a Maga hat because I like the colours.” Katherine Ryan, Roisin Conaty and Sophie Willan – solid panel show bookings, of course – struggle through, as the format proves difficult to riff off.

When it comes to deciding which of the two YouTubers turned boxers Logan Paul or KSI is the more unacceptable celebrity (no real case is put to the audience in the studio, or at home for that matter), Conaty swerves a punchline and simply declares: “They’re absolute tossers, aren’t they?”

Willan is truly funny about the parallels – and lack thereof – between royal dramas and soap opera plots (“You don’t get a paedophile ring on Hollyoaks”). But why Ranganathan is defending the royals, let alone advocating that they get a pay rise, is a head-scratcher. Yes, the show is called Unacceptable, but are we really supposed to believe that Britain’s busiest lefty comedian – maybe Britain’s busiest lefty full stop – is a staunch royalist?

Things don’t get much better when Ranganathan denies that NHS midwife £500 cash because Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, looks as if he needs it more. Sure, it’s a joke at the expense of the queen’s cousin – who is pictured looking rather frail – and the whole segment has a cringey whiff of “soldiers deserve footballers’ wages” about it … but just give the woman her money! And while it may well be an excuse to say silly things about the Windsors, why are we still harping on about King Charles and Tampongate after all these years? Because he has to maintain his (clearly not serious) position, Ranganathan’s material suffers. Immigrants are keeping the royals going, he reckons. “Some of those small boats are coming over just to see Buckingham Palace,” he says, before adding: “I’m not saying encourage small boats.” Will someone please change the subject (or the channel).

Watching McNally argue that women aren’t funny is even weirder, and a section featuring Ryan’s husband, Bobby Kootstra, is toe-curling, despite everyone’s best efforts. Ranganathan’s mum, Shanthi – steadily becoming as much of a TV mainstay as her son – shows up, too, giving Unacceptable the full Ranganathan seal of approval. Sadly, this does not make the programme any more exciting. Ryan – arguing that men should have vasectomies at birth, which would be reversed when they know how to parent – might have the most truthful opinion of them all, but asking an audience member about his vasectomy and getting him to confirm, loudly, that “I still ejaculate” feels like a low point for everyone involved. Actually, maybe that honour goes to an extended joke about Kootstra drinking his own wee.

Panel shows can take a while to bed in, and perhaps in 20 years Unacceptable will be a household name like Never Mind the Buzzcocks or Mock the Week, itself saved from the dustbin of TV history by TLC. But I don’t see it. Wasting this much comedy talent on a show that doesn’t make any sense is a tragedy. It’s not unacceptable, but it certainly is unnecessary.

• Unacceptable is on TLC now.