Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

David Mitchell says he ‘cleared the air’ with Steve Coogan on Greed set after public spat

Back in 2013, Coogan called Mitchell’s writing ‘ill-informed and superficial dross’

Annie Lord
Thursday 20 February 2020 11:14 GMT
Comments
Greed - Trailer

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

David Mitchell has said he “cleared the air” with Steve Coogan after a public spat they had back in 2013.

The rift began back in 2013 when Mitchell wrote a column saying he opposed proposals that the government regulate the press. Coogan responded calling Mitchell’s argument “ill-informed and superficial dross.”

In response to Mitchell stating that “press freedom is essential for us”, Coogan wrote: “Wow, you’re really going out on a limb! No one disagrees: it’s like saying you’re anti-cancer.”

Coogan continued: “David, if your article were a schoolboy’s essay, it would score highly for style. But it would be covered in red ink with frequent use of the word ‘sloppy’, finishing with: ‘See me’”

Mitchell has now told The Guardian that the pair have since resolved their issues.

““We’d met and cleared the air previously,” he explained. “But we cleared the air on it again. He was incredibly supportive, and looked after me on set. And I’m a huge fan – he can go really big with a character and it still seems real.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Mitchell brought up his disdain of capitalism: “People probably don’t realise how boldly unfair it is”.

He also said that the state of the world has made him find the idea of nuclear war “quite comforting”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in