The Matt Forde Focus Group: Boxing Day Special
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
BBC
4.1 • 13.5K Ratings
🗓️ 2 January 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Top political comedian Matt Forde reconvenes his Focus Group for a Boxing Day special with a Dickensian twist.
Recorded in front of a live audience, Matt is joined by journalists, comedians and politicians – including former Cabinet Minister Michael Gove – to review the political state we're in through the lens of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Expect sharp analysis, unexpected confessions, and the year's biggest stories getting visited by the Ghosts of Politics Past, Present and Yet to Come.
Appearing as a festive treat in BBC Radio 4's Friday Night Comedy feed, it's a topical comedy that's both genuinely funny and surprisingly insightful – perfect for digesting with the leftover turkey.
Written and performed by Matt Forde Additional writing from Karl Minns, Laura Claxton and Richard Garvin Producer: Richard Garvin Executive Producers Jon Thoday and Richard Allen Turner Co-Producers: Daisy Knight and Jules Lom Broadcast Assistant: Sahar Rajabali Sound Design and Editing: David Thomas An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:07.6 | Police, drop your weapon! |
| 0:09.9 | In 2025, we were here for the investigators, gangster. |
| 0:14.1 | They were stealing money from wealthy institutions. |
| 0:17.5 | Debt was fair game. |
| 0:18.9 | Murder, they wrote. |
| 0:19.9 | He was a preacher, a good guy. |
| 0:21.4 | But now he's dead. |
| 0:23.1 | It has all the marks of a sort of like a proper horror film. |
| 0:26.3 | And fame under fire. |
| 0:27.8 | He is no longer afforded the right of a regular citizen. |
| 0:31.4 | He is guilty until proven innocent. |
| 0:33.3 | Get the best of 2025 with podcasts on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:45.3 | Music get the best of 2025 with podcasts on BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to the Matt Ford Focus Group Christmas special, |
| 0:50.0 | the topical comedy show where we examine the political landscape through one particular theme or concept to help us make sense of it. |
| 0:57.0 | What could be more festive? |
| 0:59.0 | I'm your host, Matt Ford, |
| 1:00.1 | and today we're looking at politics through the lens |
| 1:02.5 | of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. |
| 1:05.7 | A Yuletide story of a friendless, socially awkward bully |
| 1:09.0 | who reinvents himself as a kinder jollier soul. |
| 1:12.5 | It's a bit like when Ed Bulls did strictly. |
... |
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