Enfield’s Angry BBC Letter

British comedian Harry Enfield has revealed he once sent a furious letter to former Janice Hadlow after she decided to cut a character from his sketch programme Harry Paul during her time as controller of BBC Two.

Enfield, widely recognised for iconic comic creations such as Kevin the Teenager and Loadsamoney, co-created the sketch show with longtime collaborator Paul Whitehouse. The series ran for four seasons between 2007 and 2012. It originally aired on BBC One before later moving to BBC Two after ratings began to decline.

In an interview with The Times published on 6 March, Enfield recalled a disagreement with Hadlow over a sketch featuring a dysfunctional “feral” family shopping in a supermarket. The scene included crude sexual humour involving a teenage character, which led to the sketch – and other appearances of the same characters – being removed from the show.

The decision came in 2012 as the BBC was facing intense scrutiny following the historic abuse scandal involving former presenter Jimmy Savile. At the time, the broadcaster tightened editorial controls on material that could be seen as inappropriate or sensitive.

Reflecting on the incident, Enfield admitted he reacted strongly and sent Hadlow a harshly worded letter. “The controller Janice Hadlow got scared when there was nothing to be scared of,” he said.

Hadlow took over as controller of BBC Two in 2008 after holding senior roles at Channel 4 and BBC Four. She remained in the position until 2014 before moving into other senior BBC projects. In 2020 she published her debut novel The Other Bennet Sister, inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The book is now being adapted by the BBC, with actors including Ruth Jones and Richard E. Grant linked to the production.

Enfield’s television career began in the 1980s when he appeared on the satirical puppet show Spitting Image. Over the years he has taken roles in popular series such as Bad Education, Upstart Crow and The Windsors. His performance as a fictionalised future King Charles III in The Windsors earned him a nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2017.