Mark Dolan has been axed by controversial TV network GB News after joining the station in 2021, and said he planned to ‘speak publicly’ after the sudden firing

GB News host Mark Dolan, 50, has announced that he’s suddenly been dropped from the network.

The former Channel 4 star shared the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, in two cryptic posts. In his first post, at around 5:30pm, he wrote: “SOME NEWS. I’ve hosted my last MARK DOLAN TONIGHT on GB News. More to follow…” Mark then followed up an hour later, and shared: “STATEMENT. GB News have made the decision to permanently relieve me of my duties at the channel. I will speak publicly about this in due course.”

The comedian didn’t offer any immediate explanation for his termination, but fans had mixed opinions. While some said that no-one was safe at GB News after a slew of firings and suspensions, others said that Mark’s work on the show and his treatment of Laurence Fox could be the root cause.

Mark was criticised on GB News last year when he tried to form a Match Of The Day alternative in the wake of Gary Lineker being asked to step down from the BBC original. In March, he called upon Patrick Christys to give a rundown of Bournemouth’s 1-0 home win against Liverpool.

The host promised fans that he’d follow up with more information, and didn’t immediately explain why he’d got the boot ( 
Image:
GB News)

Standing by a large electronic screen that he wasn’t sure worked, Patrick summarised the game with a random reference to the hosting team’s Cherries nickname. “How on earth did Liverpool manage to stick seven past Manchester United and then lose to a team named after a fruit?” he joked.

Later, Patrick commented that Lineker “might like Brighton because it’s full of rainbow flags and woke people.” People at home weren’t impressed. One tweeted a gif that read: “Dies from cringe.” Others commented: “Jesus, this is so pathetic I could weep” and “Bit cringey this lads.”

Others echoed: “Are you seriously pretending to be sports presenters now?” and “The absolute state of this, screams of people who call the game ‘footie.'” Another tweeted at the channel: “This is absolutely atrocious. How embarrassing. There are YouTube channels with better production values and more knowledgeable insights than this.”

Even beyond this, some fans suggested that Mark was chucked by GB News for “throwing his colleagues under the bus” after he called out Laurence Fox while stepping in to cover for him and Dan Wooton at the beginning of the year. Explaining his presence, Mark said: “Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll be aware that GB News presenter Laurence Fox appeared on the channel last night and made some offensive comments about the journalist Ava Evans.

“I wasn’t expecting to be here tonight. Dan’s absence tonight is beyond my control. Free speech is everything, but it comes with responsibility. Anything you say, or write, or broadcast, will rightly be exposed to the court of public opinion.” The host continued: “I know. I’ve been there. And I’ll be there again. Whether Laurence should stay on air is not my decision, and Dan’s absence tonight is also beyond my control. There is an investigation ongoing. But the comments made by Laurence in my view were sexist, misogynistic and have been condemned across the political spectrum from the left and the right and even the liberal democrats.”