Harry Hill shares shock confession as he admits making beloved ITV show was ‘bl**dy awful’

has spoken out about making the TV Burp, admitting it was a nightmare process.

The show, which ran for 11 series on ITV1 from 2001 to 2012, poked fun at some of Britain’s best-known TV shows. In an interview with the 60-year-old comedian revealed that the concept originated while he filled in as a TV critic for The Sun, thinking the idea might translate well to TV.

Hill described the gruelling production process, which involved endless hours of watching preview tapes and manually editing clips using VHS recorders.

Despite working with several notable writers over the years, including Dave Gorman, Chris Addison, and Richard Herring, many struggled with the intense demands of the show.

He confessed: “We tried various writers over the years – Dave Gorman, Chris Addison, Richard Herring – but most people couldn’t hack it. Every waking hour was spent watching TV.

“We could only make the show by using preview tapes sent out to reviewers. Ally Ross, a later TV critic at the Sun, would pass them on and they would be circulated among our team.

“You’d have two video recorders: you’d watch on one and have a blank tape in the other. Any clips you liked, you’d tape on to the blank VHS. As soon as you’d taken the omnibus out, you’d put the one in. It was bloody awful.”

It comes as the TV star recently opened up after suffering

He admitted that he broke his ribs in an onstage accident.

Speaking to The Times, he said: “The live-show stunts are becoming more of a problem as I get older. I broke a few ribs falling off an ironing board and it takes longer to recover these days. But I haven’t got the outwards sign of anything, put it that way.”

Harry trained as a medical doctor before turning to comedy. He is best known for fronting his show, The Harry Hill Show, and more recently presenting Junior Bake Off.