Sacha's Dictator banned from BBC

London - Sacha Baron Cohen will not be allowed on the BBC as his The Dictator character General Aladeen.

The British comic was in negotiations to appear on UK 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, something you don't get when people come on as characters. We'd love to have Sacha on as himself."

'Why are they victimising me?'

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 they 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. 

At this year's Oscars he upended an urn filled with the supposed ashes of the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il onto red carpet presenter Ryan Seacrest.

The Dictator - which also stars Anna Faris and Megan Fox - is due for release in South Africa on 13 July.