January 8, 2026

JOHN CLEESE MORPHED INTO THEODORE DALRYMPLE SO SLOWLY, I HARDLY EVEN NOTICED: John Cleese tears into BBC over Iran bias row as actor fumes he’s ‘ashamed’ of broadcaster: ‘It doesn’t want to offend Islamists!’

In one of the most high-profile rows, the Israeli embassy publicly slammed the BBC over its reporting on the Iran protests, with embassy spokesman Alex Gandler claiming the broadcaster has maintained “near-total silence” on the demonstrations while devoting excessive attention to Gaza.

Iranian journalist Mani Barsharzad has added to the criticism, telling GB News that many Iranians perceive the BBC as biased in its coverage of the protests.

“There is a bias there because it doesn’t fit the narrative,” she said. “The narrative, which they want to say is ‘it is their own culture’. ‘If the Islamic Republic is oppressive, it’s because the people want that.’ But this is not the reality.”

Now, Mr Cleese has joined the critics. He took to X, where he reposted criticism of the broadcaster from the likes of Sharron Davies and Jake Wallis Simons, among others taking aim at the Beeb over the supposed lack of coverage from Iran.

But then, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, to coin a phrase:

Related: Coming Soon: The Iran Civil War of 2026?

(Classical reference in headline.)

UPDATE:

MORE:

Posted at 5:14 pm by Ed Driscoll