Nish Kumar has left his hosting role on Late Night Mash.

The topical show finishes on Dave tonight with a compilation episode. A second series has yet to be confirmed.

The channel posted a video this morning in which Kumar broke the news.

"I've loved being part of this show but I've made the difficult decision to step down and spend more time with my emotional problems," Kumar said. "Thank you to everyone at Dave, everyone who worked on the show and especially everyone who watched it.

"It's been the longest I've ever stayed at a job, mainly because the uniform is better than Croydon WH Smith."

Kumar's decision to leave had been "a shock" a show insider told British Comedy Guide.

The satirical comedy originally ran on BBC Two from 2017 to 2020 as The Mash Report. The Corporation axed it in March, drawing claims that the move was politically motivated, following new director-general Tim Davie saying he wanted to tackle a perceived bias in the BBC's output.

Taking to Twitter today, Kumar added: "It is true. I'm leaving Late Night Mash. After five years across the Beeb and Dave it felt like the time was right to move on.

"I'm writing this on the back of my final script. It's covered in blood due to me slamming my hand into the staple by accident. It is a testament to how much of myself I put into the show, and also my ceaseless clumsiness.

"I want to thank the BBC for commissioning the show and Dave for saving it. And thanks to everyone who worked on the show - it truly was a labour of love. For us all.

"When we started in 2017 we were told a show like this wouldn't work on British TV. The fact that it has is the result of the talent and hard work of everyone involved in making the show. Most importantly, thanks for watching. Mash forever."

The Dave channel tweeted: "We've loved working with Nish on #LateNightMash and the entire Dave team wish him all the best in the future. If you've missed any of this series of Late Night Mash the best bits are on tonight at 10pm."

However in a statement to the Metro newspaper, the broadcaster added, perhaps ominously for the show: "We'd like to thank [Nish] for being part of the show and we look forward to working with him on more projects. The future of Late Night Mash on Dave will be decided in due course."

Late Night Mash began with an overnight audience of 301,000 for its first episode in September but has come to average around 150,000 for the eight episode series so far.

However, BCG's source said Late Night Mash had "consistently been doing well" on the catch-up channel Dave ja vu.

The consolidated figure for last week's episode over seven days was 356,660, making it Dave's fourth most-watched show of the week, after QI repeats.

A factor in Kumar's decision may be that his stand-up tour Control begins in February, potentially clashing with filming of any second run of the series.

Regulars Rachel Parris, Ellie Taylor and Geoff Norcott were absent from episodes in the first Dave series due to recording dates clashing with their long-booked stand-up tours.