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In a chilling thought experiment, Newsnight created a vision of a right-wing dystopia by having their current affairs flagship presented by “Nick Ferrari”, a grotesque pastiche of loudmouth populists.
Stage veteran Simon Williams, who plays Nick Ferrari, said that the over-the-top character was meant to be amusing but also highlighted a more serious point.
“Imagine a Britain where all notions of decency and professional rigour have vanished. Imagine a BBC solely concerned with pleasing the lowest common denominator. Imagine a nation where gratuitous insults towards the weakest in society become a recognised path to a career in the media.
“And now try to see a world where a jowly tabloid hack with a ridiculous eighties porn star name was the face of serious news analysis. It’s a terrifying thought but we need to wake up to the dangers of where politics is heading.”
Mr Williams, who has to spend three hours in make-up to become Nick Ferrari said that the production team created a fictional backstory to give him inspiration but that it was too unrealistic to work with.
“They went a bit nuts as you can see by the cigarette-lighter haircut and the gout-sufferer body.
“They even invented a past in TV where Nick created ridiculous shows like Topless Darts or had a radio phone-in where he told Muslim callers to leave the country, but it just wasn’t credible.”
