James R | On 05, Sep 2014

Frankie Boyle will take centre stage this September in Frankie Boyle’s Referendum Autopsy, a one-off comedy show exclusively on BBC iPlayer.

Filmed at Glasgow’s Britannia Panopticon in front of a live studio audience, shortly after the referendum vote on 18th September, the event will be a mix of stand-up, review, discussion and audience interaction.

Frankie will be joined by fellow comics as well as a series of experts and high profile figures, who will analyse the campaign, scrutinise the celebrity and social media involvement, and take a satirical look at how the news covered the event. And while Scotland is in the voting habit, Frankie will propose some other motions that he wants the studio audience to rule on.

Given this is a BBC iPlayer comedy event, the duration of the programme will only be finalised on the day of release. It’s the latest in a string of iPlayer-only titles, as the Beeb increasingly places an emphasis on the digital platform in the run-up to the planned move of BBC Three to an online-only channel. Indeed, Frankie Boyle appeared in the comedy shorts released on BBC iPlayer a few months ago, one of several comedy showcase initiatives the broadcaster has undertaken this year.

Boyle and BBC iPlayer clearly feel at home together with the Beeb commissioning this one-off event from the controversial Scotsman, who left Mock the Week several years ago, criticising the terrestrial show for being to restrictive on his risque style.

Victoria Jaye, Head of TV Content for BBC iPlayer, says Frankie is “uniquely placed” to create the programme: “The Scottish Referendum is one of the most significant political events of our time and we want BBC iPlayer to draw on the power of comedy to reflect on its outcome in a special, one-off event.”

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