Roast Battle

Roast Battle
Promotional image
GenreComedy
Satire
Stand-up comedy
Created by
Written by
Directed byLiz Clare
Presented byJimmy Carr
Judges
AnnouncerBrian Moses
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageBritish
No. of series4
No. of episodes22
Production
Executive producers
  • Brian Moses
  • Emma Clarke
  • Gabe Turner
  • Jeff Ross
  • Jill Offman
  • Jimmy Carr
  • Louise Holmes
  • Suzi Aplin
ProducerMia Cross
EditorsAndy Kinnear
Jason Boxall
Philip Lepherd
Original release
NetworkComedy Central
Release15 January 2018 (2018-01-15) –
17 February 2020 (2020-02-17)
Related

Roast Battle is a British roast comedy show that is broadcast on Comedy Central. The show is hosted by Jimmy Carr and features comedians facing each other in roast battles.

The show was created by American comedians Jeff Ross and Brian Moses and is based on their Comedy Central series Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle on which Carr has appeared as a contestant.

Concept, format and production

Roast Battle is based on Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle, an American television series created by comedians Jeff Ross and Brian Moses that first aired on Comedy Central in 2016. The American series is based on a live show created by Moses and fellow comedian Rell Battle that runs at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles in the comedy club's Belly Room. Jimmy Carr participated as a contestant in Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle's first series.

Roast Battle premiered on Comedy Central in the UK and Ireland in 2018. The show is hosted by Carr and Moses acts as the announcer and the referee of each battle. The winner of each battle is determined by a panel of judges, including Carr. In the series' first series Katherine Ryan and Russell Brand served as judges. The second and third series featured Ryan and Jonathan Ross on the judges panel. The fourth series judges panel featured Ryan alongside a different guest judge each episode. These guest judges included Richard Ayoade, Big Narstie, Sara Pascoe, Noel Fielding and Joe Lycett.

The show is recorded at the Electric Brixton nightclub in London and is co-produced by James Corden’s production company Fulwell 73 and Carr's production company Ideasatron.

Reception

Roast Battle became Comedy Central's highest-rated UK commission.

In December 2018, a complaint was upheld by Ofcom after a trailer for the programme featured an anti-Semitic joke delivered by Jimmy Carr towards Tom Rosenthal, the latter of whom is of Jewish descent.

Episodes

Overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally releasedJudges
First releasedLast released
1615 January 2018 (2018-01-15)19 January 2018 (2018-01-19)
251 October 2018 (2018-10-01)5 October 2018 (2018-10-05)
Special110 December 2018 (2018-12-10)
  • Carr
  • Ryan
  • Ross
3514 January 2019 (2019-01-14)18 January 2019 (2019-01-18)
  • Carr
  • Ryan
  • Ross
4520 January 2020 (2020-01-20)17 February 2020 (2020-02-17)
  • Carr
  • Ryan
  • Guest judges

Series 1

No.
overall		No. in
series		Battle 1Battle 2Original release date
11Tom Allen vs Suzi RuffellPhil Wang vs Ed Gamble15 January 2018 (2018-01-15)
22Daniel Sloss vs Desiree BurchJoe Lycett vs Nick Helm16 January 2018 (2018-01-16)
33Bobby Mair vs Harriet KemsleyDane Baptiste vs Tez Ilyas17 January 2018 (2018-01-17)
44Sofie Hagen vs Larry DeanAlex Brooker vs Matt Forde18 January 2018 (2018-01-18)
55Joel Dommett vs Iain StirlingFin Taylor vs Paul Chowdhry19 January 2018 (2018-01-19)
66Jayde Adams vs Alex EdelmanMark Steel vs Elliot Steel19 January 2018 (2018-01-19)

Series 2

No.
overall		No. in
series		Battle 1Battle 2Original release date
71Fern Brady vs Ivo GrahamChris Ramsey vs Tom Rosenthal1 October 2018 (2018-10-01)
82Alfie Brown vs Jessie CaveDaniel Sloss vs Phil Wang2 October 2018 (2018-10-02)
93Catherine Bohart vs Sarah KeyworthAndrew Maxwell vs Mark Watson3 October 2018 (2018-10-03)
104Stephen Bailey vs Darren HarriottMatt Richardson vs Angela Barnes4 October 2018 (2018-10-04)
115Naz Osmanoglu vs Rose MatafeoAlex Brooker vs Rosie Jones5 October 2018 (2018-10-05)

Special

No.EpisodeBattles 1 & 2Play-offFinalOriginal release date
12Christmas specialBobby Mair vs Ed Gamble
Suzi Ruffell vs Desiree Burch		Bobby Mair vs Desiree BurchSuzi Ruffell vs Ed Gamble10 December 2018 (2018-12-10)

Series 3

No.
overall		No. in
series		Battle 1Battle 2Original release date
131Tom Ward vs Darren HarriottTom Allen vs Larry Dean14 January 2019 (2019-01-14)
142Kiri Pritchard-McLean vs Brennan ReeceAlex Edelman vs Joel Dommett15 January 2019 (2019-01-15)
153Tom Houghton vs Lauren PattisonSimon Brodkin vs Dane Baptiste16 January 2019 (2019-01-16)
164Nigel Ng vs Tom LucyJohnny Vegas vs Phil Ellis17 January 2019 (2019-01-17)
175Rhys James vs Lloyd GriffithRhys Nicholson vs Felicity Ward18 January 2019 (2019-01-18)

Series 4

No.
overall		No. in
series		Guest judgeBattle 1Battle 2Original release date
181Noel FieldingLaura Lexx vs Tom LivingstoneBaga Chipz & The Vivienne vs Glamrou & Crystal20 January 2020 (2020-01-20)
192Big NarstieJoe Sutherland vs Sophie DukerJamie Laing vs Ivo Graham27 January 2020 (2020-01-27)
203Richard AyoadeEd Night vs Huge DaviesRichard Herring vs Sara Barron3 February 2020 (2020-02-03)
214Joe LycettAdam Rowe vs Maisie AdamFern Brady vs Phil Wang10 February 2020 (2020-02-10)
225Sara PascoeDane Baptiste vs Jordan StephensLou Sanders vs Luke McQueen17 February 2020 (2020-02-17)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Logan, Brian (15 January 2018). "Roast battles and insult comedy? No thanks. We're British". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Zinoman, Jason (29 July 2016). "Insult Comedy as Blood Sport: The Rise of the Roast Battle". The New York Times. New York City, New York, United States. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Finally, the Comedy Roast Competition Battle is Coming to Television". The Interrobang. Orange Pop Media. 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Lewis, Rebecca (15 October 2019). "Noel Fielding switches baking for roasting as he joins new Comedy Central show". Metro. London, United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Jonathan Ross replaces Russell Brand on Roast Battle UK judging panel". Evening Express. Aberdeen, Scotland. Press Association. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "Comedy Central orders yet more Roast Battles". Chortle. 15 October 2019. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  7. ↑ Clarke, Stewart (8 September 2017). "Russell Brand Set for U.K. Version of Comedy Central's 'Roast Batt". Variety. Los Angeles, California, U.S. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  8. ↑ Dessau, Bruce (29 January 2018). "News: Roast Battle Smashes Ratings Record". www.beyondthejoke.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  9. ↑ Price, Stephen (1 February 2018). "Roast Battle turns up heat". www.broadcastnow.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "Comedy Central rapped over Jimmy Carr's 'antisemitic' joke". Chortle. 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.