World Shut Your Mouth

World Shut Your Mouth was a hidden camera television series starring Dom Joly that ran on Friday nights in 2005 on BBC One. Dom Joly made his name on the similar series Trigger Happy TV on Channel 4, and it was from its great success that he was hired by the BBC to produce new programming. His first effort was an unsuccessful spoof chat show named This Is Dom Joly. The lack of success in conventional comedy prompted him to go back to his hidden camera roots and started to create a new series which was very similar to Trigger Happy TV, with short stunts overlaid with a soundtrack. He was the main participant in these stunts. As with his previous work, the programme had an emphasis on surrealism, with sketches such as a spying gnome and nerds taunting skaters and him dressing up in aluminium foil like a superhero, being a partner of a traffic warden who was technically ignoring him. The main difference between Trigger Happy TV and World Shut Your Mouth was the scope of the show. Where Trigger Happy TV took place in various places around the United Kingdom, the larger budget of World Shut Your Mouth allowed for international travel and filming, and many of the stunts took place at, or near, major international landmarks.

Directed by Dom Joly, World Shut Your Mouth leans on a strong ensemble — Dom Joly, Danny Wallace — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The series landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about comedy titles of 2005.