Charlie Brooker has confirmed he will be taking a break from Black Mirror because of coronavirus.
The writer and comedian, 49, cast doubt on a sixth series of the dystopian series being filmed anytime soon, as he said the public would struggle to ‘stomach’ the show in the midst of the global pandemic.
He told the Radio Times: ‘I’ve been busy, doing things. I don’t know what I can say about what I’m doing and not doing.
Taking a break: Charlie Brooker has confirmed he will be taking a break from Black Mirror due to the coronavirus pandemic
‘At the moment, I don’t know what stomach there would be for stories about societies falling apart, so I’m not working away on one of those. I’m sort of keen to revisit my comic skill set, so I’ve been writing scripts aimed at making myself laugh.’
The most recent series of Black Mirror was released in June 2019 with just three episodes starring Miley Cyrus and Andrew Scott.
In the previous season, Brooker released the lauded Bandersnatch film in which viewers could choose their own adventure.
Success: Black Mirror has been a huge hit but Charlie believes audiences don’t want to watch the dystopian show during the pandemic
It comes after the BBC announced the funnyman would be returning to TV for a coronavirus special, called Charlie Brooker’s Antibacterial Wipe.
The half-hour show will focus on how people are occupying themselves during their spare time amid the COVID-19 lockdown, as well as what they’re watching.
Announcing the special, Brooker said in a tongue-in-cheek statement: ‘The BBC asked me to supply a quote for the press release, which is what you’re reading now.’
Coronavirus special: It comes after Charlie confirmed he will be returning to the BBC to present a COVID-19 special, called Charlie Brooker’s Antibacterial Wipe
In keeping with his other Screenwipe episodes, Diane Morgan and Al Campbell will return in their roles as reporters Philomena Cunk and Barry S**tpeas, respectively.
The show will be broadcast on BBC Two on Thursday, May 14 at 9pm.
The award-winning writer first aired TV review programme Screenwipe in 2006 with a three-part series that aired in that format up until 2008.
He then transitioned into making one-specials of the show, the most recent of which – The Best of 2010–2015 Wipe With Charlie Brooker – aired in December 2019.
Statement: Announcing the special, Brooker, 49, said in a tongue-in-cheek statement, ‘The BBC asked me to supply a quote for the press release, which is what you’re reading now’
Back in 2018, Brooker paid tribute to his wife Konnie Huq and their two sons, revealing his whirlwind romance with the former Blue Presenter and becoming a parent changed him for the better.
The talented writer told BBC 4’s Desert Island Discs that marrying Konnie in a Las Vegas ceremony after just nine months together in 2010 and deciding to become a dad was ‘the best decision’ he had ever made.
Of the loved-up pair’s marriage he said: ‘That was absolutely the right time.
Focus: The show will focus on how people are occupying themselves during their spare time amid the COVID-19 lockdown, as well as what they’re watching. Pictured in April 2019
‘It was weird because, for years, I’d not known if I’d wanted kids or a family, that seemed like something that other people did, I couldn’t perceive of that as a future.
‘And then Konnie came along and quite early on she said “I want kids and a family” and this sort of thing, and I heard myself going “OK”, and sort of thought, “oh, right, why have I said that?” It was the best decision I ever made.’
Konnie, 44, who previously dated fellow presenter Richard Bacon for six years, met Charlie nine years ago when she appeared in an episode of his show Screenwipe on BBC One in 2008.
The star said that he has a ‘romantic fluttering heart’ underneath his sarcastic exterior. The couple now share two sons Covey, seven and Huxley, five.
Love and marriage: Brooker tied the knot with Konnie Huq in a Las Vegas ceremony in 2010, after just nine months of dating (pictured together in April 2019)
Charlie said it was a ‘cliche’ to say that becoming a father changed him, as the star had written columns in the past in which he expressed his dislike for children and said he didn’t want any.
He also admitted to fearing that he wouldn’t bond with his baby and spoke about Konnie’s ‘horrific’ emergency Caesarean section while giving birth to eldest son Covey
He said: ‘I remember when Konnie was pregnant with our first son Covey, this was like in 2012 when he was born, and it was a thing I could worry about, the pregnancy.
‘But my biggest fear was that I’d heard about dads who, the baby is born and they just don’t connect, or for whatever reason, they don’t emotionally connect, and I didn’t really get babies and kids.
‘I was like, ‘that’s going to be me, what if I feel nothing?’
The pair raised eyebrows when they first got together due to their very different personalities, with Charlie described as a satirical pessimist while Konnie has a clean-cut happy-go-lucky image.
In an interview with the Guardian in 2011, Konnie was asked, ‘What or who is the greatest love of your life?’ to which she replied, ‘My husband.’
Sons: The couple are the proud parents of sons Covey, seven and Huxley, five (pictured in July)