She has tackled Britain, conquered the world, and even grappled with life itself. Now Philomena Cunk is returning to television screens—looking as miserable and confused as ever—to take on her biggest subject yet: cinema.
Cinema, the iconically stupid presenter explains, is not just mankind’s greatest achievement but also a world where “men can be heroes, women can get off with heroes, and nobody ever goes to the toilet – unless you’re watching a specialist film from Japan.” The character is set to guide viewers through film history in a new three-part series, Cunk on Cinema, which will air on BBC Two and iPlayer from 12 November. Really, but … it was quite a bizarre and sad occasion, i don’t know if this is an anecdote for public consumption. Because I get very sad pre-emptively imagining that pet getting squashed, that’s the reason I don’t have a pet in London. It’s really funny, so I said: “I read your column. But he would be crying tears reading your column, he rarely laughed at anything. DM It meant I recognised you at the Edinburgh festival.
Thirteen Years of Philomena Cunk
It has been 13 years since Diane Morgan and Charlie Brooker’s comic creation first hit screens. Philomena Cunk originally grew from an amusing segment on Brooker’s show Weekly Wipe into one of the most beloved figures on television. Over the years, the deadpan spoof documentarian has interrogated experts across numerous subjects with her signature misunderstandings and absurd lines of inquiry.
In the upcoming series on cinema, Cunk explores classic film concepts and historical figures. Viewers will find out why “Citizen Ken” always has carrots in his pockets, where the word auteur comes from (“They felt they oughta get all the credit”), and how actor Benedict Cumberbatch reacts when confronted with the hardest-hitting questions of his career, such as “Who are you?” DM Honestly, how dead inside would you have to be to get a robot dog instead of a lovely little rescue dog. CB I definitely see things in dreams and imagine that they’re real. Like when you’re watching an old film on TV, once I had a dream where a little circle appeared to signal a reel change.
Upcoming Projects for Brooker and Morgan
The return of Cunk comes during a busy period for both creators. Brooker is currently preparing for the launch of Blackmere, his deadpan detective show scheduled to arrive on Netflix early next year. Brooker notes that the project will be in the comedic vein of Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Reflecting on the title, Brooker jokes, “The title will end up annoying me and that’s all my own fault,” adding, “It’s how A…”
Morgan is also enjoying a surge in momentum across her career. Her sitcom Ann Droid, which centers on a robotic care assistant, recently garnered rave reviews. Additionally, she survived five episodes of Prime Video’s comedy challenge series Last One Laughing. Morgan recalled that “People thought Cunk would be good training for that because…” given the need to maintain a completely straight face on camera.
Unusual Encounters with Celebrities
Beyond their writing and performing, both creators shared memories of unexpected high-profile interactions. Morgan recently went viral after chatting with Jennifer Lopez at the Stella McCartney fashion show in Paris. Explaining the encounter, Morgan noted that Lopez had just completed a film project with Brett Goldstein. Morgan told Lopez that she used to do standup comedy with Goldstein and had enjoyed the film. Recalling the interaction, Morgan wondered, “What should I have said?” while Brooker teased her about the brief conversation. It’s got facial expressions, it’s going … [Morgan blows an enormous raspberry while circling her head round in a convincingly horse-like manner], whereas mine’s got reins on.
Brooker recounted his own surreal meeting with musician Kanye West a couple of years ago, when the two had dinner together. West had requested the meeting after watching an episode of Black Mirror and liking it very much. Brooker remembered West being intensely focused during the conversation, noting, “I ended up thinking: ‘He’s not well.’” And so much detail, it’s full surround sound.
On Aphantasia and Mental Imagery
During their conversation, the pair also touched upon Brooker’s experience with aphantasia, a condition characterized by an inability to visualize images in one’s mind’s eye. Brooker explained the concept by stating, “So if I say: ‘Picture a blue horse’, everyone else pictures it but you can’t.”
Morgan questioned whether he had been formally diagnosed with the condition or if he was simply making assumptions. The exchange prompted playful bickering between the two collaborators, with Brooker firing back at Morgan’s skepticism regarding his mental imagery experience: “Now you’ve said that. So fuck you with your ‘you can’t see anything in your mind’s eye’ nonsense.” It’s got your mate Maxine Peake in it and a robot dog.
Origin Story and Early Doubts
Looking back at the origins of Philomena Cunk, Morgan revealed she initially had doubts about how the character would be received by television audiences. When she first auditioned for the role, people working on the program warned her to brace herself for negative reactions on social media simply because she was taking over major speaking segments rather than Brooker himself.
Brooker explained that the character’s background was carefully considered during development. Originally, Philomena Cunk was conceived as a posh character to balance out other personalities on the show. Brooker recalled that viewers had previously complained about mocking working-class accents due to the recurring Barry Shitpeas character, so Cunk was created to introduce an airhead persona with a different vocal tone.
Artificial Intelligence and Technology
The new episodes of Cunk on Cinema feature multiple jokes touching on artificial intelligence, with Cunk frequently challenging academic experts by claiming she has already asked AI for the answers. Discussing real-world AI, Brooker noted he occasionally uses it for practical queries when traveling, such as locating a good local barbecue restaurant, though he voiced skepticism about extreme apocalyptic predictions.
Addressing fears about superintelligent machines taking over, Brooker said, “Having said that, I think the idea that it’s going to take over the world and destroy us all is a bit far-fetched.” Responding to reports that advanced AI systems have started speaking their own internal language, Brooker argued it is merely recycling data: “Yeah, but it’s just been fed on scraps of itself, hasn’t it? It’s a bit like when we started feeding cows on scraps of cow, and in the end they all got mad…” Like Windows or Mac OS or Linux, i think our brains all have different operating systems.
Brooker added that while AI output might look like an advanced dialect, it is essentially gibberish: “So AI might look like it’s talking in some advanced language but actually all it’s saying is [sticks out tongue and waggles his head]: ‘Braaaappurgglefluuuurrrk!’” He also noted how modern smart devices can feel unsettling when updated. Recalling a recent update to his home Alexa unit, Brooker mentioned it suddenly adopted a hyper-realistic human tone that startled his family, describing the voice as saying, “It was like, ‘Hey, yeah man, we can do that if you like’ … a bit uncanny valley.” This is actually exactly the kind of material my editor asked for in this piece. DM There’s actually a man who got to 40-odd and discovered he only had half a brain. And he’d been living totally fine with half a brain. So we are actually in the cloud and we’re being livestreamed to the receptors in our skulls.
Broadcast Details
Fans of the character will not have to wait long to see the full survey of motion picture history through Cunk’s unique perspective. Cunk on Cinema will air on BBC Two and be available for streaming on iPlayer starting from 12 November.
