Ed Gamble in his new panel show ‘Unacceptable’ and UK Comedy Scene

Ed Gamble is the host of the brand new comedy show ‘Unacceptable’, where he oversees a group of comedians who compete to win over the studio audience to their most outrageous opinions.

The comedian and podcaster who is perhaps best known for hosting the official podcast “Uncloaked” of “The Traitors” is joined by familiar faces such as Richard Ayoade, who in one episode tries to argue that action movies are great movies, and Katherine Ryan, who tries to convince the audience that all men should have a vasectomy at birth. Romesh Ranganathan, who produces the show through his prod co Ranga Bee, also makes occasional appearances.

‘Unacceptable’ is part of a new series of comedy programs from British free-to-air network TLC (owned by Warner Bros. Discovery), which also includes the resurrection of ‘Mock the Week’ (which previously ran on the BBC). TLC is so invested that they confirmed that “Unacceptable” would be renewed for a second season before the first episode even dropped (it launches on July 5).

Before the launch, Gamble sat down with us Variety to talk about the new show, the British comedy scene and whether audiences will ever see him as a contestant on ‘Celebrity Traitors’.

How did you get involved with ‘Unacceptable’?

The format actually came entirely from Ranga Bee, so I guess Romesh kind of nodded and said, “Ed would be good at this” and they came to me and said, “Oh, we’re doing this with TLC,” and I was excited about that, because I knew TLC had recently brought back “Mock the Week,” and it was really exciting to hear that they wanted to put on a new panel show as well.

I loved the idea and I think because it’s also Romesh’s company, they had access to brilliant comedians, so we’ve had some episodes where it was like comedians from the Hall of Fame panel show, which was great.

Did it become competitive with the panelists and the captains in terms of being funny? Can you be as funny as she is?

You can get involved in the conversations and make jokes and all that stuff, but then [as the host] you have to think about how much everyone has said and how much everyone has been allowed to contribute, and sometimes comedians are so eager to say their thing, and there might be someone who’s hanging back a little bit, and you hear someone trying to jump into the conversation, so you’re trying to make all that happen, you’re trying to keep the loop running to some kind of vague time, you’ve got people in your ear, so there’s all these things to think about, but then when it starts to fly, you can throw in whatever you want.

I think panel shows have had a bad reputation in the past because they were very competitive and comedians wouldn’t give each other space and were just trying to get their own stuff in, and I think that’s changed a bit now, the comedy scene is becoming much more collaborative.

And this is also a special show, I think, because every comedian has their moment to shine to express their ‘unacceptable’ opinion, so they have the space to do that, and it’s their part, so that everyone will do something.

How tense does it get?

I would say it’s a bit of a knock on the door there, but I think any opinions that are “unacceptable” are the kinds of things that everyone could get involved in and discuss and have an opinion about. There is certainly no one who says something that you think will upset a lot of people. And that’s not what anyone wants, I think, so yes, you could say socially unacceptable things, but it certainly doesn’t put anyone down because of their life choices or protected identity.

The public gets a voice: how did they respond to the unacceptable opinions?

It’s very tongue-in-cheek and the audience was great because it’s a very easy format to master, you know, mock sighs and stuff like that. And they vote, and of course 98% of them find that unacceptable. Then the comedian gets a chance to expand on that opinion and explain it a bit more, and then they vote again and the swing – hopefully you’ve convinced some people – that’s the number of points you get.

Were there any pretty big swings?

There were a few bigger swings than I thought, there were also some where there was no swing and there were almost more people who found it unacceptable afterwards. What’s crucial is how well the comedian argues it and how much the other team joins in and absolutely destroys that opinion. It was really fun. It has a sort of comic debate feel to it

In an age of polarization, it feels like it’s almost more than just entertainment and that showing people how to listen to other opinions can actually be very important.

I wouldn’t say the discussion ever felt important; we are working on some light-hearted things. When it also felt really fun, there was a round called Switch Up, where we give comedians an opinion that they haven’t seen up until that point, and they have to defend it, and normally we pick something that we absolutely knew that person didn’t agree with, and you can just see their face. Like we had Harriet Kemsley pick up a card and read, “All single mothers are lazy” and she was absolutely amazing because you can see her spiraling into saying this, but she gives this swear word, it’s really fun.

There has been discussion in recent years that it is a difficult era to be a comedian because people are so worried about what they say. Is that something you’ve felt?

It’s actually not something I ever think about, and honestly I don’t think it’s ever been difficult to be a comedian. There are tough jobs, and being a comedian is definitely not one of them. And you know, I think the intention is always big for me. I’ve seen comedians say outrageous things, but you can see the intent, you can see what they’re doing, and I’m fine with it, but I think there are plenty of comedians now who have no problem putting down, and often it’s completely charmless. I think charm is something you always have to remember when you’re a comedian. I think there are plenty of people just trying to make a point that is pretty stupid.

With TLC investing in comedy plus “SNL UK” at Sky and “LOL: Last One Laughing UK” at Prime Video, does it feel like commissioners are open to comedy again or is it still difficult to get it on air?

It definitely feels like more things are coming through now.

I’ve almost always been able to do some form of television work, but I’ve also been able to podcast and do things online. I think the comedians who are thriving and still doing things are the comedians who had a huge variety and added a lot of things to their career early on and just threw themselves into everything. So I guess that’s how it goes. If you look at the comedians who invested early in online, and are into Patreon and podcasting and things like that, they’ve now gotten to a point where they’ve become so big themselves that now that TV is coming back, they’re getting on TV.

What else are you currently working on?

More “Traitors Uncloaked” to come as they just finished “Celebrity Traitors” [Season] 2, and before that I was in Scotland, filming a few bits with people coming out of the castle. We have to do all the London episodes of ‘Uncloaked’ when it’s air time for ‘Celebrity Traitors’ and then the civilian ‘Traitors’ starts, and then I go on tour in January.

Would you ever want to be a contestant on “The Traitors”?

I’m having so much fun doing ‘Uncloaked’. When I’m there I get information about the castle, just watch it all happen, which feels like watching ‘Big Brother’ in the 2000s, but they never limit themselves to bird calls – I can hear everything they say. I think [doing “Celebrity Traitors”] that would mean I don’t do ‘Uncloaked’, so I don’t think I would do it.

You’ve been very open about having type 1 diabetes (formerly known as juvenile diabetes), which is probably not easy to deal with when you’re hosting a panel show. How do you deal with it during marathon recording sessions?

So a CGM [continuous glucose monitor]Personally, the Dexcom G7 has made things so much easier. So before, when I did TV stuff or live stuff, I relied on pricking my finger [to check blood sugar levels]and you never get a sense of whether it’s going up or down or staying steady, so you’re basically flying blind. But now I can just check my phone. And luckily my consciousness symptoms are still pretty good, so if I feel weird I can just look at my phone and know where I am, so it’s okay. And when I’m working I also have to be very conscious of what I eat, so it will be low carb and low insulin.

This interview has been edited and condensed.