Sacha Baron Cohen as General Aladeen
Sacha Baron Cohen will not be allowed on the BBC as his 'Dictator' character General Aladeen.
The British comic was in negotiations to appear on shows including 'Newsnight' and 'The One Show' but the channel has decided it does not want him in character and instead will only permit him to go on as himself.
A BBC spokesperson told The Sun: "Our chat shows thrive on the spontaneous banter between guests and the presenter, some thing you don't get when people come on as characters. We'd love to have Sacha on as himself."
However, Sacha has hit back - as General Aladeen, who is based on a number of Middle Eastern dictators - claiming they are a "meagre channel".
He said: "While I am a huge admirer of the state-sponsored censorship, the BBC banning me from their meagre channels is an outrage. Why are the victimising little old me?"
Sacha is regularly known for pulling off spoofs while promoting his new movies - in 2009 he was lowered from the ceiling onto rapper Eminem with no trousers at the MTV Movie Awards.
'The Dictator' - which also stars Anna Faris and Megan Fox - is due for release on May 16.
Tagged in Sacha Baron Cohen