Harry Hill says he’d love TV Burp to return – but with someone new at the helm. The comedian hosted the ITV show for a decade from 2002, but quit after finding the workload too demanding.

In a Q&A with the new edition of Radio Times, the comic was asked if he would ever revive the format. He said: ‘I don’t have any plans. These things are best left undone. We did all the jokes. Trying to recreate that, I’d be on a hiding to nothing, but I’d love someone else to do it. There’s a space for that sort of show and I’m surprised no one’s filled it.’

In an interview with The Guardian in 2022, Hill said the programme was very demanding, explaining: ‘Every waking hour was spent watching TV… It was bloody awful.’ He added: ‘Barely a day goes by without someone asking me when I’m bringing back TV Burp. In the end, I just couldn’t do it anymore. ITV wanted more and more – I didn’t have a life outside of it. I know it sounds really whiny, but I can’t explain the pressure.’

Hill was speaking to Radio Times to promote the CBBC series Go Get Arty, in which he voices Bristles the talking paintbrush.

Published: 1 Jul 2025