 Monty Python's Life of Brian will be screened during the season |
Channel 4 is to devote a week in August to shows examining outrageous comedy. Programmes will include a profile of controversial comedian Roy "Chubby" Brown and a documentary about Monty Python's 1979 film Life of Brian.
Hitler: The Comedy Years will explore how the Nazi leader has provided material for such British comics as Freddie Starr and Spike Milligan.
The World's Most Offensive Joke, meanwhile, will look at jokes that "push the boundaries of comedy".
They include material inspired by the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and the recent cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.
'Uncensored'
"Comedy has a long tradition of causing offence," said a C4 spokesman.
"We probably all laugh at something we shouldn't, but in the light of the recent Danish cartoons furore, is there still a place for uncensored, crude comedy?"
The season includes a rare TV screening of Life of Brian, named the greatest comedy film of all time in a Channel 4 poll earlier this year.
The film was condemned as blasphemous before its original release, prompting some local councils in the UK to ban it.
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