On 2 October 2009, he announced he was leaving
Mock the Week (2005) to concentrate on other projects. It was announced to the public via Facebook on the show's fan page, and later confirmed by the BBC. Fans of the star soon rallied around to get him to stay, and a popular Facebook group was made straight away, showing how strongly the fans felt about him and his place on the show. However, he has since criticised both the show's production team, and the BBC Trust. He claims that the show did not cover enough major news stories and was too restrictive on his risque comedy act, as the producers and the BBC Trust were afraid of "frightening the horses".