Mock the Week has been on for 12 years, and it only just had two female panelists (out of seven)

Mock the Week has been on British TV since 2005, airing sixteen series, and 164 episodes.

The show regularly features seven comics, including host Dara Ó Briain, team captain Hugh Dennis, Frankie Boyle, and Andy Parsons.

Scenes we'd like to see?

A show with more than one female comedian.

Viewers who tuned in on 22 June 2017 were treated to this groundbreaking sight.

Only once in the entire twelve year history of the programme has there been an episode of the show in which two of the seven comics were female.

The singular episode was commented on British comedy news site Chortle.

Compilations don't cut it.

Other times you may have seen more than one woman on screen were the various compilation shows Mock the Week has aired, made of the best bits and out takes from other episodes.

25 female comedians have appeared as the sole female panellist, including Jo Brand, Andi Osho, Katherine Ryan, and Gina Yashere.

As the years progressed, the frequency of women on the show did increase, but still never more than one woman per episode.

Zoe Lyons has appeared on the show most often, with 12 appearances, followed by Holly Walsh and Sara Pascoe tied on nine episodes.

Almost half of the women who have ever appeared on Mock the Week did not appear on the show more than twice.

For context, excluding the male hosts, team captains and regulars, the top ranking guest Ed Byrne has been on 45 episodes of the show and Milton Jones has appeared 36 times.

48 all-male episodes.

There have been 48 episodes, also excluding clip compilation episodes, which featured no female panellists at all.

In 2014 the BBC announced it would ban all-male panel shows.

In a Radio Times interview, host of Mock the Week Dara Ó Briain criticised the move, saying:

Legislating for a token woman isn't much help.

It's remarkable that this amount of time is spent debating women on comedy shows rather than, say, Question Time.

A certain number of women want to go into comedy, and they should be cherished and nurtured, but you're not going to shift the fact that loads more men want to do it.

He also said:

Katherine Ryan or Holly Walsh, who've been on millions of times, will suddenly look like token women.

Katherine Ryan has been on the show seven times, and Holly Walsh nine.

indy100 contacted the makers of Mock the Week, Angst Productions for comment, and was told by spokesperson that no one from the company was available.

HT Chortle

More: A map of all the places you can't vote for a woman on election day