Douglas Is Cancelled review: A chilling tale of our woke times as Hugh Bonneville's gag leaves his life in ruins, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS By Christopher Stevens For The Daily Mail Published: 20:16 EDT, 27 June 2024 | Updated: 21:23 EDT, 27 June 2024 e-mail 7 shares View comments Douglas Is Cancelled (ITV1) Rating: Never make a joke. Just don't, ever. It's too dangerous.
The humourless forces of Woke will annihilate you and every futile excuse you attempt will only make matters worse. By the time veteran news presenter Douglas Bellows realises he's been heard cracking an injudicious funny at a family wedding, it's too late. The allegation is all over social media, his agent is already preparing to dump him, his employers are going into full 'damage limitation mode' and his career is dead.
He just isn't aware of it yet. It doesn't matter that no one knows what the joke was. Even Douglas ( Hugh Bonneville ) can't remember it.
The whistleblower on Twitter , or X, says it was 'extremely sexist' and that's enough to destroy him. The fall-out could be catastrophic for his family too. Wife Sheila (Alex Kingston) is a newspaper editor whose own reporters are already sharpening the knives for Douglas.
Even his 19-year-old daughter Claudia (Madeleine Power) is concerned she'll never be able to speak to him again. Generation Z preaches kindness and tolerance above all things, but this doesn't extend to actual jokes. Hugh Bonneville is a limited actor but his amiably aggrieved persona .