EXCLUSIVE: Mark Dolan spoke to the Daily Express about his exit from GB News

Mark Dolan has revealed what really goes on behind the scenes at GB News following his departure. The presenter, 51, was a regular face on the channel before being abruptly axed in December last year. Announcing his dismissal on X, Dolan wrote at the time: “STATEMENT. GB News have made the decision to permanently relieve me of my duties at the channel.” He later posted a tell-all YouTube video, claiming he was fired “in minutes” and that it was not his choice.

Dolan has now shared what it was really like working for GB News during an appearance on the Daily Expresso podcast. He said: “It’s a bit like when we were saying about tribal politics versus the detail of policy. Similarly, the brand is never the same as the people in it.” Dolan claimed that anyone who dislikes GB News assumes it is a “Conservative-leaning, right-wing channel,” and that those who present on it are “horrible racists”.

The TV star said that regardless of what viewers think of the channel’s output, working there was a positive experience.

He continued: “It doesn’t matter what you think of the output. To work there was a great thing because it’s about 150 to 200 journalists. They’re all interesting, talented, bright people. They don’t all think the same thing. You’ll be amazed how many rabid lefties are at GB News.”

“The experience behind the scenes was very positive. Lots of talented people. Lots of nice people. It has given a lot of opportunities to young journalists because they’re on a limited budget, they had to take in graduates from communications college and things like that.

“Sometimes they’d do a placement whilst still a student, then the minute they graduate they were straight over to GB News.”

He acknowledged that many of the people they hired were unlikely to be supporters of Nigel Farage, yet they still came in and applied their talents regardless.

Dolan went on: “GB News, as well as TalkTV, are required by Ofcom to get their facts right and to have opposing views. What was underestimated when I was at GB is how hard they do work on balance, because for them it’s existential.

“It was a good experience and I really enjoyed the time there. There’s not a syllable I said that I regret. Maybe I’m one of those people that’s already cancelled themselves, but I just decided that I would say what I think.

“What I did at GB is I kept that template of, ‘If I think something and also I do my research then I’ll say it.’ And that’s what I did for three and a half years.”

Dolan then said he was “bizarrely fired” just before Christmas last year, admitting he has “no idea” why he was let go, especially given that he was pulling in impressive viewing figures.

He explained: “The numbers were great. In my final show I had double Sky’s audience. I was ahead of BBC News for half of the entire show. The last ever monologue that I’d done was on a third of a million views on YouTube.”

After being fired just three days later, Dolan told bosses: “You know the very last thing I ever said on the channel is currently on a third of a million views on YouTube. You’re firing someone who can generate that, and not in a freakish ‘he got lucky’ moment.”

Despite his sudden axe, Dolan hasn’t held a grudge, declaring: “No one is owed a living.”

Although people have claimed Dolan’s exit should never have happened, he acknowledged: “I am an employee. They paid me and then they didn’t want to pay me anymore. I always say in the media, sometimes you get the gigs that you don’t deserve and sometimes you don’t get the gigs you do deserve.”

The comedian added: “Therefore you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. When that happened I was like, ‘I totally understand your decision and I wish you ever success. I want the channel to prosper.”

He highlighted that most people have been fired in their lives and insisted he wouldn’t change anything.

Dolan revealed that he went to visit his in-laws in Austria straight after getting let go. “I drank my own bodyweight in Austrian beer. But I decided that I wasn’t going to think about any of that stuff for 10 days. I had a few beers and spent some time with the family and attempted to ski unsuccessfully.

“Then I came back in the New Year. I managed to build a YouTube channel. It’s a fun channel which is based around royal gossip and it’s called The Mark Dolan Show.”

He concluded: “If that hadn’t happened with GB News then I wouldn’t have been forced to start that channel.”