Charlie Brooker is to launch a spin-off from his BBC Four show Screenwipe, concentrating on TV news.

Charlie Brooker's News Wipe, which will air on BBC Four in the spring, is billed as a ‘funny, thoughtful and scabrous digest of recent news events’.

He said: ‘This is new territory for me – I'm no current affairs expert. Just like, I suspect, many people, when I tune into the news I often feel like I've wandered into episode 389 of the world's most complex soap opera. So it's also about me trying to make sense of a bewildering and often bloody stupid world.’

Brooker's credits include Nathan Barley, which he co-wrote with Chris Morris, and the recent thriller Dead Set.

The six-part series, commissioned by former BBC4 controller Janice Hadlow and BBC controller of comedy Lucy Lumsden, will be made by production company Zeppotron, a subsidiary of Big Brother producer Endemol.

Last month, Chortle reported how Brooker will soon be hosting a new Channel 4 comedy show about the workings of TV, You Have Been Watching, in which he will be joined by guests in front of a live studio audience.

Published: 29 Jan 2009