West Sussex Gazette features articles by comedians Josh Widdicombe and Nish Kumar as part of TV programme

Comedians Josh Widdicombe and Nish Kumar have written a selection of local articles for this edition as part of a possible new television programme.

The comedians and presenters joined the newspaper’s editorial team for CPL Productions’ affectionate look at the role of the local newspaper and the importance of communities.

Josh is best known for his appearances on The Last Leg, Fighting Talk, Insert Name Here, Mock the Week and his BBC Three sitcom Josh. He also won the first series of Taskmaster in 2015 and the show’s first Champion of Champions special in 2017.

Nish hosted BBC Two’s The Mash Report, BBC Radio 4 Extra’s topical comedy show Newsjack, the Comedy Central series Joel & Nish vs The World, the BBC Radio 4 programme The News Quiz and Hello America on Quibi.

The West Sussex Gazette is the county’s oldest newspaper – founded nearly 170 years ago in 1853.

The broadsheet has a distinguished history – it is credited with reformer Richard Cobden in achieving the abolition of stamp duty on newspapers in the 19th century which enabled the spread of trusted news and information among the poorest members of society.

In the 1960s it became one of the first colour newspapers in the country – pioneering new printing presses.

Editor Oli Poole said: “We are hugely excited to be involved in this project, which we hope will be a real celebration of both local journalism and the beautiful county of West Sussex.”

Director and Editor In Chief Gary Shipton, who has overseen the title since 1990, thanked the community for their support.

“Trusted local news has never been more important. We believe this will really raise the profile of both local newspapers and the power of ‘local’ in a post-pandemic world and we are hugely grateful to Josh, Nish and CPL for asking us to be involved. We will let our readers know more as the story develops.”