Weekly Newsletter |
Monday 7th March 2022 |
Latest comedy news
Lynda Baron dies aged 82
Lynda Baron, best known for playing Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in Open All Hours, has died at the age of 82.
Jamie MacDonald gets second series of Radio 4 show Life On The Blink
Radio 4 has commissioned a second series of Life On The Blink, the stand-up show in which Jamie MacDonald talks about embraced his blindness.
Rosie Jones to star in multiple new Channel 4 shows
Channel 4 has confirmed a second series of Trip Hazard, plus a documentary, and cooking-based web series, all featuring Rosie Jones.
Young cast revealed for Dave sex & spirituality pilot Holier Than Thou
Newcomers Princess Khumalo, Tomi Ogbaro and Jordan Williams will star in Holier Than Thou, a new Dave sitcom pilot about three young adults struggling to reconcile their awakening sexuality with their Christian beliefs.
Denise Welch to star in Dave sitcom pilot about a "suspect" psychic
Denise Welch co-stars in Dead Canny, a new Dave sitcom pilot about a so-called psychic caught up in a murder investigation.
Vahid Gold stars in Dave sitcom pilot The Other Half
Vahid Gold is to star in The Other Half, a new sitcom pilot for Dave about a closeted, mixed heritage 20-something called Navid.
BBC Wales orders topical panel show and stand-up showcase
Kiri Pritchard-McLean is to present BBC One Wales panel show pilot What Just Happened? and stand-up series Live From Barry Island.
Aisling Bea to star in Take That film
Aisling Bea will star in the Take That jukebox movie Greatest Days.
Royal Television Society announces 2022 award nominations
The Royal Television Society has announced the nominees for its annual Programme Awards, with comedies including We Are Lady Parts, Bloods, Motherland and Alma's Not Normal all up for prizes.
National Comedy Awards 2021 winners
As you may have seen on TV on Saturday, the big winner at the National Comedy Awards was Sex Education, which picked up four trophies. Here are all of the winners.
Radio 4 announces sport and history stand-up specials
Radio 4 has announces two new stand-up specials, the sport-centric Sudden Death from Jon Harvey and history-focused The Rest Of Us, from a trio of female comics.
Jennifer Saunders to present opera series on Classic FM
Comedian and actor Jennifer Saunders has joined Classic FM, presenting a "landmark" new 7-part Sunday evening series From Couch To Opera House, in conjunction with English National Opera.
James Acaster and Guz Khan explore the science of Home Alone for Sky
James Acaster and Guz Khan are making The Unofficial Science Of Home Alone, a Sky Max show recreating the home defences featured in the hit 1990 film.
John Robins and Elis James writing book about mental health
John Robins and Elis James are writing their second book. How Do You Cope? Notes on Strength, Resilience and Finding Ourselves, is set to be published on 2nd February 2023.
Comedy horror series Wrecked reveals cast list
Wrecked, a BBC Three comedy horror series set aboard a cruise ship, is being filmed now, with Ladhood star Oscar Kennedy in the lead role.
Kevin Bridges writes his first novel
Kevin Bridges has written his debut novel. The Black Dog will be published by Wildfire Books on 18th August. Dealing with depression and writing aspirations, the comic wrote the book over lockdown.
Advert
Bridget Christie: Who I Am?
Southbank Center, 12 March - Part of WOW Festival
The award-winning stand-up and writer brings her new show Who am I?, a hilarious look at menopause. ★★★★ Guardian ★★★★ Telegraph ★★★★ Evening Standard ★★★★ Chortle. Info & Tickets.
Features
Tim Key & Daisy May Cooper discuss The Witchfinder
Tim Key and Daisy May Cooper talk about going back to the year 1647 in The Witchfinder, and the pain involved in having to act alongside horses.
Comedy Chronicles: Dennis Main Wilson: The maverick
Comedy Chronicles turns its spotlight on producer and director Dennis Main Wilson, who brought a range of pioneering, all-time-great comedy programmes to the airwaves across both television and radio during his career.
Preview: Steve Best's stand-up photography book, Comedians
Comedian and skilled photographer Steve Best is known for taking brilliant images of stand-ups, both on stage and behind-the-scenes. Now he's set to release his best snaps in a new book.
Circuit Training: To the Shops! Moomin Magic, with Joz Norris
Joz Norris and Circuit Training did wander round Camden's Moomin shop because a world war seemed to be starting and we needed cheering up, but it turned out to be oddly relevant.
First Gig, Worst Gig: Clare Plested, Do Not Adjust Your Stage
Do Not Adjust Your Stage have just treaded the boards with three TEDtalk-like improv shows, so Clare Plested gave us a comedy history lesson.
Rachel Parris reveals top 10 books people fail to finish
To tie in with last week's World Book Day, Dave ran a survey to reveal the top 10 books British readers have failed to finish. Rachel Parris reveals this list in a video, and you can read new versions created by comedy writers.
British Comedy Quiz #192
What killed everyone on Red Dwarf? Know that? You'll also need to know about DangerMouse, Vic & Bob and Man About The House to get full marks.
John Robins: Our producer talks to me like I'm one of his children misbehaving
As John Robins prepares for The Podcast Show 2022 LIVE, we talk to him about his podcasts with Elis James, returning to the Edinburgh Fringe and his next book.
Random 8: Sarah Kendall
With the new series of Frayed now airing on Sky, Sarah Kendall reveals the last great undiscovered Aussie hotspot (may contain sharks).
Advert
Join us at London's Museum Of Comedy on Friday 25th March to see six wonderful stand-ups perform their best sets as part of our BCG Pro Talent Awards final. The show will be hosted by the always-brilliant Stuart Goldsmith. Info & tickets
TV listings
Guessable?
The delightfully silly quiz game continues. Sara Pascoe, Alan Davies, Darren Harriott and sidekick John Kearns invite everyone's favourite Frenchman Fred Sirieix into the Comedy Central attic, alongside comedians Rhys James, Jo Brand and Dani Dyer.
The Stand Up Sketch Show
Routines by comedians Travis Jay, Tom Lucy, Claire Haus, Steen Raskopoulos, Auria Styla, Richard Stott, Suzi Ruffell and Russell Kane are reconstructed as sketches.
Starstruck
In the penultimate episode of the series, Tom and Jessie are presented with job opportunities that put a strain on their new relationship.
This Is Going To Hurt
It's the day of Adam's engagement party, but his work stress is becoming increasingly overwhelming. Shruti tries a new tack, but doesn't get the outcome she hoped.
Cheaters
Three more episodes. (Watch out for those post-10:30 being delayed by overrunning news coverage.) Still trying to patch-up his marriage with Fola, Zack goes to pick up his Dad from the airport, only to be faced with some devastating news.
The Witchfinder
The new comedy starring Tim Key and Daisy May Cooper. A failing witchfinder arrives in an East Anglian village in search of work. Desperate for the wealth and fame a big trial could bring, all he finds is an uncouth local woman accused of killing a pig...
Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable
Mel and Lou are joined by actor Sally Phillips, comedian Alan Davies and stand-up Ria Lina. Sally reveals the best way to get back at a horrible boss, Alan tells all about his court appearance and we find out why you should never leave your kids with Ria.
Frayed
Sammy is confronted by her husband's indiscretions once again as she comes face-to-face with his mistress, Bambi, at her new legal aid lawyer's office.
Billy Connolly Does...
Ever wondered what it would be like to have Billy Connolly as a next-door neighbour? Or where Marlon Brando liked to have an afternoon nap? Billy reveals all, including why you should never buy a house with mattresses in the garden.
Meet The Richardsons
Jon signs up with a new GP who's a bit too pleased to have a celebrity patient. The duo also have a commissioning meeting.
Dating No Filter
Jack and Danido some boot-scooting in a line-dancing first date. Meanwhile Nyugen and Billy have a much more relaxed time of it as they partake in a very chilled spa day. Josh Jones and Jayde Adams are amongst the comics commenting.
The Last Leg
Rose Ayling-Ellis and Victoria Coren Mitchell are set to help Alex, Josh and Adam round-up this week.
Paul Sinha's TV Showdown
Rachel Riley, Stacey Dooley, Nihal Arthanayake and Jon Richardson join team captains Fay Ripley and Rob Beckett on the comedy quiz show.
Dodger
Dodger encounters a 'mummy unrolling' - a posh craze in Victorian times - and reckons it's too good an opportunity to be missed - think of all the pockets to be picked!
The Curse
In the final episode of the series, the gang are running out of options and the police are getting closer...
For a complete list of TV and radio broadcasts, including repeats, see our full schedule.
Shop
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The Tony Hancock ShowTony Hancock stars in his first ever television series. Co-starring June Whitfield, Dick Emery, Hattie Jacques and others, this sketch show enjoys scripts by Eric Sykes and Larry Stephens. Two series were broadcast on the ITV network in 1956 and 1957, but now only the first is known to survive, and is presented here for the very first time. A special booklet detailing the programme is also included. |
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George Lewis - DON'T PANIC! All The Stuff The Expectant Dad Needs To KnowThis book by comedian George Lewis is primarily aimed at expectant fathers - offering them practical advice on what's about to occur over the next year of their life, and how to cope with the challenges and changes - but, if like us, you're not expecting, it still promises an entertaining read. With story contributions from a number of well-known comedians, it also presents a fascinating insight into how the likes of Romesh Ranganathan and Russell Kane have found fatherhood so far. |
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Sadia Azmat - Sex BombSadia is a comedian who loves sex. She is also a hijab-wearing Muslim woman. The two are in a lifelong relationship, but it's complicated. In this "vibrant, funny and conversation-starting memoir", Sadia shows how the different sides of her identity and personality have fought and embraced each other over the course of her life. From being viewed as a 'sister' being a real cock-block, to growing up and being criticised by Muslims and white people alike for speaking out on sex; from her experiences of dating Asian men and white men to her tumultuous relationship with her headscarf, Sadia is unafraid to give you the honest truth. In the end she looks to the future for herself and women alike, what does it mean to be sexually liberated? And can you truly separate the girl from the headscarf? Sex Bomb is The Wrong Knickers meets It's Not About the Burqa and offers a whole new look at the experiences of a Muslim woman. |
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This Is Going To HurtGolden Globe, Emmy and BAFTA winner Ben Whishaw stars in Adam Kay's adaptation of his best-selling memoir about life as a junior doctor, for BBC One. This "hilarious" - and often heart-breaking - series follows a fictionalised version of Adam as he juggles being a good doctor and a good person, in a system that sometimes feels like it's against him. Set in obstetrics and gynaecology, the series reveals the unvarnished realities of Adam's life on and off the ward: 97-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a tsunami of bodily fluids - and a personal life forced into second place. All for an hourly rate that struggles to compete with the hospital parking meter. A stark reminder of the vital role played by medics like Adam everywhere. |
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HoffmanOne of the most unsettling films in the Peter Sellers canon, Hoffman sees the actor in a sinister starring role as a bachelor who obsesses over his secretary (Sinead Cusack) and, discovering that her boyfriend (Jeremy Bulloch) has been fiddling the books at work, blackmails her into spending a week with him. Their time together reveals Hoffman's tragic, lonely existence. Alvin Rakoff (Death Ship) directs a film that is by turns amusing, poignant and uneasy, and boasts a central performance so uncomfortable and revealing that its star tried to have the film's negative destroyed. This Blu-ray world premiere release is a new restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative, and includes a wealth of special features. |
For more, see our full list of new releases and items coming soon.
Comedy videos
Couple fight over last chocolate
When you're down to the last Malteaser and have to decide who you love more, your partner or chocolate...
East Mode With Nigel Ng - Reincarnation Department
After Nigel's 4,971th time being reincarnated, he wants another chance to live life in a different way... or many different ways.
Scripted Bloopers
A peek behind the scenes at the making of the blooper reel...
Comedy Central Live - Lara Ricote
Lara Ricote on the perks of being partially deaf and her hearing aids getting in on the action.
Women's Underground Secret Spy Club
Ever wonder how your friend found out about her cheating ex 0.5 seconds after he told his friend?
All My Friends Hate Me - Trailer
A film from Totally Tom's Tom Palmer and Tom Stourton. During what's meant to be a joyful weekend reunion, Pete finds himself increasingly unnerved by his friends' inside jokes and snarky comments...
The Baby - Trailer
The trailer for this forthcoming Sky comedy drama described as "a darkly funny, raw examination of motherhood, from the perspective of a woman who doesn't want to be one".
Spotlight
Bottom
A series that will need little introduction for most, Bottom was the riotous, violent slapstick-driven comedy from Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson. A distillation of their Dangerous Brothers characters - first seen on TV in 1980 - the sitcom debuted in 1991 and quickly became one of the decade's most iconic cult hits, running for three series to 1995 and spawning no fewer than five hit live stage shows, and a similarly-toned feature film. If it's not a comedy you know yet, now's a perfect time to discover the lunacy.
Thanks for reading
Rob Smyth has won the BCG Pro Gag-a-Week competition, which focused on the topic of grass:
Not being allowed to divide my grass into quarters has left me feeling four lawn.
Check out our website tomorrow morning for a reveal on the highlights set for next week's Red Nose Day. Amongst the TV offerings will be the return of a comedy format last seen on screen more than two decades ago...
British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk
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