Phil Wang left a celebrity panel feeling “uncomfortable” after joking that “the Chinese need to run the UK” on the new series of Ed Gamble’s Unacceptable!, which airs tonight, November 8. The comedian argued the UK had failed at running itself.
Wang’s Bold Vision for Britain
“I think the Chinese need to run the UK, I think the UK has had a good go at running itself and proven it's not up to the challenge,” he began. “The UK is a real mess at the moment, right? Whereas the Chinese are incredibly efficient people.”
Wang pointed to unfinished projects as evidence of inefficiency. “I mean, the British haven't even finished Stonehenge and it's been thousands of years. HS2 has taken 17 years and has cost £44 billion, and it's still not finished. If the Chinese were in charge of HS2, it would go from Manchester to Jupiter by now.”
He also joked about free speech, saying, “You know what else is inefficient, free speech. All those opinions getting in the way, all that time used up by Parliament debating things, we don't need that.”
Panel Reacts to the Jokes
Wang continued with suggestions to make things “more Chinese,” including renaming Big Ben to a crude name and calling Chinatown simply “Town.” As he kept joking, host Ed Gamble asked if he felt “how uncomfortable everyone got.” Wang replied, “This is not the kind of thing that will happen when the Chinese are in charge. Laughter is mandatory.”
The show features team captains Richard Ayoade and Joanne McNally, with guest comedians including Maisie Adam, Sam Campbell, Judi Love, Nish Kumar, Ellie Taylor, Seann Walsh, Sara Pascoe, Lucy Beaumont, and Joel Dommett. In the first episode, Wang joined Catherine Bohart, Dara Ó Briain, and Harriet Kemsley to defend outrageous opinions, with Bohart discussing lesbian marriage, Kemsley insisting men on dating apps are doing great, and Ó Briain arguing that hosting panel shows is a young man’s game.
Wang’s Comedy Background
Wang, a 36-year-old Malaysian-British stand-up comedian and member of sketch group Daphne, won the Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Award in 2010 and Comedy Central's Funniest Student Award the following year. He has appeared on Taskmaster, Would I Lie to You?, Have I Got News for You, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Live at the Apollo, and Roast Battle, and recently took part in Prime Video's Last One Laughing Halloween special.
Ed Gamble’s Unacceptable! returns to TLC from Sunday, November 8 at 9pm.
