Clive Myrie on being pulled from BBC News: HIGNFY airs too close to bulletin

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Clive Myrie has spoken about why he was pulled from BBC News At Ten after hosting Have I Got News For You, saying the two shows were just “too close” together. When asked when he knew he was going to be told to come off air on Thursday’s Steph’s Packed Lunch, Mastermind host Myrie said: “It was after I had recorded the show, which is the day before.” He added on the Channel 4 programme that he “couldn’t do” the bulletin the same night, which airs half an hour before the comedy panel programme featuring Private Eye editor Ian Hislop and comedian Paul Merton. During the BBC show, Hislop made jokes about the “end” of Myrie’s career based on what the presenter read out about Mr Johnson while hosting the show. Myrie, who had presented BBC News At Six on Friday, also said: “It was nothing to do with the jokes, they’d have just pulled the programme if it was the jokes, it was because the two programmes were too close together.” He appeared to agree with host Steph McGovern that the decision was down to it being weird that he could not be funny on one show and serious on another programme in such a close time period.