Tinky Winky, Laa-Laa and Po will all be making their screen debuts in North Korea soon (Picture: BBC)

The people of North Korea are soon to be blessed with the honour of watching Top Gear, Doctor Who and the Teletubbies.

That will certainly be an upgrade from their current primetime serving of It’s So Funny – a selection of slapstick sketches from two soldiers interspersed with lectures about the greatness of supreme leader Kim Jong-un.

After months of negotiation with the British government, the regime finally narrowed down three culturally acceptable programmes that it will consider broadcasting.

‘Extensive enquiries have been made about what these three shows involve and if they would be suitable for the [North] Korean people,’ a Pyongyang insider explained to the Independent on Sunday.


We’re not sure which season of Doctor Who viewers in North Korea will be watching (Picture: PA)

‘Anything too political was not suitable but these are entertainment shows, and one of them is for young children.’



The country’s state broadcaster, Korean Central Television, only shows six and a half hours of programming each evening so it’s unlikely the British programmes will get too much air time.

Now at least the people of North Korea will have some variety in their programming.

Watching non-sanctioned television in the country is forbidden – with reports that 80 people were shot recently for watching pirated copies of South Korean programmes.

Kim Jong-un: No spoilers for Doctor Who please (Picture: AP)