Ed Gamble is the host of the new comedy show “Unacceptable,” where he oversees a group of comedians who struggle to convince the studio audience to side with their most outrageous opinions.

The comedian and podcast host, perhaps best known for hosting “The Traitors” official companion podcast, “Uncloaked,” is joined by familiar faces like Richard Ayoade, who in one episode tries to argue that action movies are the ultimate cinema, and Katherine Ryan, who tries to persuade audiences that all men should have a vasectomy at birth. Romesh Ranganathan, who produces the show through his producer Ranga Bee, also makes occasional appearances.

“Unacceptable” is part of a new comedy lineup on UK broadcast network TLC (which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) that also includes the resurrection of “Mock the Week” (previously on the BBC). TLC is so interested that they confirmed “Unacceptable” would be renewed for a second season before the first episode even aired (it launches July 5).

Before its release, Gamble sat down with Variety to talk about the new show, the comedy scene in the UK and whether audiences will ever see him as a contestant on “Celebrity Traitors.”

How did you get involved with “Unacceptable”?

Basically, the format came up completely formed by Ranga Bee, so I guess Romesh nodded and said, “Ed would be good at doing this,” and they came to me and said, “Oh, we’re doing this with TLC,” and I was excited about that, because I knew that TLC had recently brought “Mock the Week” back, and it was really exciting to hear that they wanted to put on a new panel as well.

I loved the idea and I think because it’s Romesh’s company as well, they had access to brilliant comedians, so we’ve had a few episodes where it was like a panel of Hall of Fame comedians, which has been great.

Did you become competitive with the panelists and captains in terms of grace? Are you allowed to be as funny as them?

You can get involved in conversations and make jokes and all that, but then [as the host] you have to think about how much everyone has said and how much everyone has been allowed to contribute, and sometimes comedians are so eager to say their thing, and there may be someone who hangs back a little bit, and you can hear someone trying to get into the conversation, so you’re trying to make all that happen, you’re trying to make the round go in a somewhat vague time, you have people in your ear, so there are all those things to think about, but then when it starts flying, you can throw in whatever you want.

I think panel shows have gotten a bad rap in the past for being very competitive and comedians not giving each other space and just trying to present their own stuff, and I think that’s changed a little bit now, the comedy scene seems to be a lot more collaborative.

And I think this is a special show too, because each comedian has their moment to shine and express their “unacceptable” opinion, so they have a space to do that, and it’s their part, so everyone will be able to do something.

How nervous do you get?

I’d say that’s what knocking on the door is all about, but I think all the opinions that are “unacceptable” are the kind of things that everyone could get involved in, discuss, and have an opinion on. Certainly no one says anything that says, well, that’s going to bother a lot of people. And that’s not what anyone wants, I don’t think, so yes, some socially unacceptable things could be said, but it’s certainly not belittling anyone for their life choices or their protected identities.

The audience gets a vote: how did they respond to unacceptable opinions?

It’s very tongue-in-cheek and the audience was great, because it’s a very easy format to understand, you know, mock gasping and things like that. And they vote, and obviously 98% of them think it’s unacceptable. Then the comedian gets a chance to develop that opinion and explain it a little more, and then they vote again and the change (hopefully you’ve convinced some people) is the number of points you get.

Were there some pretty big changes?

There were some swings bigger than I thought, there were some where there was no swing, and there were almost more people who later found it unacceptable. It is crucial how well the comedian argues it and how much the opposing team contributes to and completely destroys that opinion. It has been very fun. It has that kind of comedic debate feel.

In an era of polarization, this almost seems like more than just entertainment and could actually be very important in showing people how to listen to other points of view.

I wouldn’t say the discussion ever felt important, we’re dabbling in some pretty lighthearted stuff. Where it also felt really funny was in a round called Switch Up, where we give the comedians an opinion that they haven’t seen up to that point, and they have to defend it, and we usually choose something that we absolutely knew that person didn’t agree with, and you can see their face. Like Harriet Kemsley had to pull out a card and read “all single mothers are lazy” and she was absolutely incredible, because you can see her going around because she has to say this, but she’s launching into this tirade, it’s actually really funny.

In recent years there has been discussion that it is a difficult time to be a comedian because people are very worried about what they say. Is that something you’ve felt?

It’s not really something that crosses my mind, and to be honest, I don’t think it’s ever been difficult being a comedian. There are difficult jobs and being a comedian is not one of them. And you know, I think intention is always important to me. I’ve seen comedians say some outrageous things, but you can see the intent, you can see what they’re doing, and I’m fine with that, but I think there are a lot of comedians now who have no problem punching, and very often it’s completely charmless. I think charm is something you always have to remember when you’re a comedian. I think there are a lot of people who are just trying to make a point that is pretty clumsy.

With TLC investing in comedy plus “SNL UK” on Sky and “LOL: Last One Laughing UK” on Prime Video, does it seem like the commissioners are open to comedy again or is it still difficult to get it on the air?

It certainly seems like there’s more coming out now.

I’ve pretty much always been able to do some kind of television work, but I’ve also been able to podcast and do things online. I think the comedians who are thriving and still doing things are the comedians who had great range and added a lot of things to their careers early on, and just jumped into anything. So I think that’s how things are going. If you look at comedians who invested online early on, and they like Patreon and podcasting and all that, they’re now at a point where they’ve become so massive that now television is coming back, they’re appearing on television.

What else are you working on at the moment?

We have more “Traitors Uncloaked” coming soon because they just finished “Celebrity Traitors” [Season] 2, and for that I was in Scotland, filming some parts with the people leaving the castle. We have all the London episodes of “Uncloaked” to do when it comes time to air “Celebrity Traitors” and then the civil “Traitors” starts, and then I’ll be on tour in January.

Would you ever want to be a contestant on “Los Traidores”?

I really love doing “Uncloaked.” When I’m there, I get a feed from the castle, I just watch it all happen, which feels like watching “Big Brother” in the 2000s, but they never cut out the bird noise – I can hear everything they say. Believe [doing “Celebrity Traitors”] So it would mean that I won’t do “Uncloaked,” so I don’t think I would do it.

You’ve been pretty open about having type 1 diabetes (previously known as juvenile diabetes), which is probably not easy to treat when presenting on a panel. How do you manage it during marathon recording sessions?

Then have a CGM [continuous glucose monitor]Personally, with the Dexcom G7, things have been much easier. So in the past, when doing anything on television or live, I relied on pricking my finger. [to check blood sugar levels]and you never have a clue if it’s going up or down or staying stable, so you’re really flying blind. But now I can just check my phone. And luckily my awareness symptoms are still pretty good, so if I’m feeling weird I can check my phone and know where I am, so everything’s been fine. And also, when I’m working, I have to be very conscious of what I eat, so it will be low in carbohydrates and low amounts of insulin.

This interview has been edited and condensed.