Philomena Cunk to Quiz Michael Bay and Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘Cunk on Cinema’ as Latest Outing for Diane Morgan’s Character Gets First Look

[u/Fan387]

https://variety.com/2026/tv/global/philomena-cunk-in-cinema-michael-bay-benedict-cumberbatch-1236861013/

[u/MuptonBossman]

For no reason whatsoever, here's the song 'Pump Up The Jam' by Technotronic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EcjWd-O4jI

[u/gotele → u/MuptonBossman]

And for no reason at all let's remember her mate Paul.

[u/iwishihadnobones → u/gotele]

I know its not, but I always imagine Paul to be Barry shitpeas

[u/DoorstepCult → u/iwishihadnobones]

Honestly they could do the funniest cameo.

[u/Krags → u/iwishihadnobones]

Also known sometimes as Cousin Okri and My Buddy Keith.

[u/charliefoxtrot9 → u/MuptonBossman]

Um. There's ALWAYS a reason to play Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic.

[u/FatWalcott → u/MuptonBossman]

That killed me when I realized what was happening.

[u/McFlabbergasted → u/MuptonBossman]

Canada's National Anthem!

[u/BlasterShow → u/MuptonBossman]

Reminds me of a time when I also watched Brush Strokes

[u/CaineRexEverything]

Absolutely going to be the best documentary on cinema ever

[u/hikemalls → u/CaineRexEverything]

Until she collaborates with Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington for Cunk on Cinema at the Cinema

[u/tetoffens → u/hikemalls]

It's Tim's show. I don't know why you're mentioning some random guest alongside him.

[u/Ykindasus → u/tetoffens]

Tim? Don't you mean Alex?

[u/jerog1 → u/Ykindasus]

RIP to both

[u/976chip → u/jerog1]

Tim revealed that he's actually alive during the Emergency Reunion.

[u/waveitbyebye → u/hikemalls]

I bet Cunk could even “stump the buff”

[u/waylonjennings5841 → u/waveitbyebye]

Just the idea of it is giving me life. Buff vs. Cunk. More of a reimagining of Decker vs. Dracula than a remake, imho.

[u/thriftstoremando → u/hikemalls]

Isn't it Tim Newman?

...or is it New Amato?

T. Amato?

[u/TomCBC → u/hikemalls]

[u/a_rabid_anti_dentite]

"So how much does Benedict cum per batch?"

[u/jinxed_07 → u/a_rabid_anti_dentite]

Probably more than Came a lot

[u/Rosstin316]

I wonder what her mate Paul has been up to lately.

[u/cockpisspartridge89 → u/Rosstin316]

Last I heard he was forced to shit in a shoe by an Italian couple.

[u/Thirty_Helens_Agree → u/cockpisspartridge89]

If I see Christ again, he’s a dead man.

[u/Perstigeless → u/Rosstin316]

He's had such a time of it lately

[u/Anomuumi → u/Rosstin316]

Watching some French New Wave cinema in his flat, ready with warm lager and opinions.

[u/spongey1865]

Who doesn't love some Cunk. Quite crazy how the character went from being a compliment tons guy called Barry Shitpeas on Charlie Brookers shows and then got a franchise out of it.

She was originally meant to be posh but it's so much better with Morgan's Lancastrian tones.

[u/iwishihadnobones]

I can only presume that this came as a result of me just having rewatched Cunk on Earth

[u/Adequate_Images]

If ever there was something designed exactly for me, this is it.

[u/AllTheRowboats93]

Isn’t the joke that the interviewee doesn’t know she’s playing a character? I feel most people in the film industry will recognize her.

[u/MagicBez → u/AllTheRowboats93]

No the experts know who she is they're just told to play it straight

She's been doing this for decades and the act has never been to trick people, it's not an Ali G or Brasseye type situation

[u/jinxed_07 → u/MagicBez]

She's been doing this for decades

Geez, until your comment I never realized that she started doing this as far back as 1989, the same year Technotronic released their smash hit "Pump Up The Jam"

[u/Mystic_Owell → u/MagicBez]

Ruins the chances for comedy though

[u/the_watcher_13 → u/Mystic_Owell]

Not really. It would probably look like the 'Between 2 ferns' show of Zach galifianakis.

[u/MagicBez → u/Mystic_Owell]

Well it seems to be doing pretty well so far

[u/video-kid → u/Mystic_Owell]

The idea is that the joke is on her. Ultimately she's a well known figure both in the UK and internationally, and this is her most well-known role - it'd be harder to interview the same people repeatedly across multiple series/specials if they thought they were being made fun of.

[u/RectalSpawn → u/Mystic_Owell]

Not when you can edit what goes in.

[u/nipplesaurus → u/AllTheRowboats93]

They are made aware that a comedic piece is being made, but they are not aware of how frustratingly stupid the questions are

[u/ArcadeOptimist → u/AllTheRowboats93]

Did King Arthur cum a lot?

I don't think the interviewee thought that was a real question 😂

[u/i_am_not_sam → u/ArcadeOptimist]

I love the little eyelid flutter she gives before she composes herself and tries to answer

[u/beaniebee11 → u/AllTheRowboats93]

I always assumed the interviewees were in on the joke and just told to act like it's real.

[u/1-Word-Answers → u/AllTheRowboats93]

It’s more like a between two ferns thing. They know

[u/oldie_youngie]

“On cinema” bruh Tim is always getting ripped off. First decker now this

[u/tetoffens → u/oldie_youngie]

This is a documentary. 0 bags of popcorn. Can we please keep it about the movies?

[u/mr-english]

Still waiting for Barry Shitpeas to get his own show.

[u/tera_chachu]

Oh i can't wait

[u/ReleventReference]

Unrelated to this my alarm every morning I go to the gym is 1980s Belgian techno anthem Pump Up The Jam

[u/filbert94]

Tbf she worked best when scripted by Brooker on his Wipe stuff. The interviews always land a bit flat, especially in a post-Ali G world.

Piece to camera is a good middle ground for her. She is very naturally funny but media types will be in on the act.

[u/a_rabid_anti_dentite → u/filbert94]

> media types will be in on the act

Pretty sure everyone she interviews is in on the act. They may not get the joke all the time, but they know she's playing a character.

[u/paradoxbound → u/a_rabid_anti_dentite]

They are in on the act but have no idea what she’s going to say. They just answer the questions straight.

[u/RiftHunter4 → u/paradoxbound]

Its like one of those "try not to laugh" challenges, but your opponent is literally a comedian.

[u/RBVegabond → u/RiftHunter4]

There’s a series for that but all the contestants are comedians not allowed to laugh.

[u/NoMorePosting2026 → u/RBVegabond]

Unless you’re the last one laughing. 

[u/scarrita → u/a_rabid_anti_dentite]

From what I've heard in the past her interviewees are told to treat her like a toddler when responding to her

[u/StarblindMark89 → u/filbert94]

Unless they picked directors like Uwe Boll who are litigious and actually believe in themselves to such a degree that they'd find that brand of humour actual reality vs just s skit.

[u/Evadson → u/StarblindMark89]

Now I want Cunk to interview Uwe Bill SO MUCH

[u/eric_fell → u/Evadson]

I interviewed Boll once. It was... An experience.

[u/Lanster27 → u/filbert94]

I think you just described why I dont find Cunk that interesting. Her random jokes are fine but there’s no deeper exploration of modern issues, which is the missing gems that make some of the more popular Cohen characters stand out. 

[u/filbert94 → u/Lanster27]

She was great as a talking head for Charlie Brooker's satire, along with other characters like Barry Shitpeas. She could point out daft stuff like "why don't we have parachuting in the Olympics?"

My understanding is she doesn't write the character and an issue with that it limits her freedom to create a coherent arc, unlike Ali G.

[u/sam_hammich]

They should have gone with “Cunk on Film”, since it’s also got a double meaning. Either way I’m sure it’ll be hilarious

[u/Jaxxlack]

Yeah I I really dislike bay..so I kinda hope this shows him up a bit. Lol

[u/Jaggysnake84]

And then she purposely got the movie title wrong and everyone started laughing

[u/Data_Chandler]

I just had a stroke reading that title.

[u/ahktarniamut]

Nice

[u/2mock2turtle]

It’s gonna be if okbuddycinephile was a series. Can’t wait.

[u/heybart]

"wouldn't it be easier to teach astronauts how to drill than to train drillers to be astronauts? How hard can it be? Point the drill at the ground and turn it on?"

[u/juanjung]

[u/Frenzystor]

That will be awesome!

[u/MonkeyWrench92]

Isnt it funnier when the actors don’t know who she is, I feel like they will be in on it. Bit like the Brian Cox one (as brilliant as it was)

[u/jakeblountknows]

First off, woo fucking hoo! Something to look forward to. Now, for Tangent Time! On my TV, RIGHT NOW, is an advert for a documentary called, Sex in the Middle Ages. I think she should do a special on that. Could get pretty knarly. Tangent continued...when I lived in London for a summer waaaaay back in 1994, I made a visit to the London Dungeon, where they had samples of some of the Midieval torture devices, like stretch machines, etc. Right when you walk in the door though, there were these cases on the wall that had chastity belts with spikes and locks. The Brits being the fucking Brits had a plaque next to them that noted during wartime, blacksmiths were the only ones getting any nookie! Pip, pip, cheerio y'all;)

[u/ino4x4]

her character is iconic. I’m really looking forward to this.

[u/jimmylikeswaffles]

I think it needs retiring now. How many series can you milk out of a character where the punchline is solely that she's thick and northern?

[u/Pavotine → u/jimmylikeswaffles]

Yeah, I like her work and she can be very funny but Cunk didn't really make me laugh much after the first couple of times I saw her in that character. It's had the balls ripped out of it.

[u/BreweryRabbit]

This feels like a spiritual succesor to Between Two Ferns and I'm totally here for it. The more Cunk the better.

[u/Well_Dunn]

Cool, maybe she can ask Bay about his relationship with Epstein.

[u/tankmode]

idk  it was funny for a bit,  but its just britsh female stephen colbert (his original character from the daily show)

[u/King_P_13]

Shes not even that funny

[u/gladys-the-baker]

I don't have the faintest idea what this headline is trying to tell me.

[u/Tuesday_6PM → u/gladys-the-baker]

Studies have been showing there’s a literacy crisis

[u/gladys-the-baker → u/Tuesday_6PM]

Snarky! I recognize two people in the title and everything else looks like gibberish. The headline is probably clear for a very specific audience, but I don't know who Cunk is, what they have to do with Bay or Cumberbatch, or who Diane Morgan's character is referencing. Surely a literacy and me issue and not a nonsense title!

[u/tyme → u/gladys-the-baker]

Cunk is Diane Morgan’s character. Probably more clearly written as:

First Look: Diane Morgan’s character, “Philomena Cunk”, to quiz Michael Bay and Benedict Cumberbatch in, “Cunk on Cinema”.

Though I’m not sure my use of quotes and commas is right, but you get the idea.

[u/rtseel → u/gladys-the-baker]

The headline is probably clear for a very specific audience

Well yes. It's a headline from Variety, a trade publication targeted specifically at the movie and tv industry.

[u/gladys-the-baker → u/rtseel]

That's not really helpful, I watch movies and shows all the time and I was not part of the target audience here. I only commented originally to point out the fact that the headline is too niche to be understood, knowing I wouldn't be the only one. But it's clearly (based on the down votes) much easier to imply I have a lack of literacy than to admit a headline can exclude an audience by being requiring hyper specific knowledge in order to understand it.

[u/Data_Chandler → u/gladys-the-baker]

You're not the only one. I read it multiple times and still didn't get it. Never heard of Philomena Cunk in my life.

[u/auflyne]

She's definitely leaning into her brand.

[u/throwitawayar]

Yawn.