Weekly Newsletter |
Monday 6th February 2023 |
Latest comedy news
Danny Dyer to star in Mr Bigstuff as part of Sky's 2023 comedy line-up
Sky has commissioned Mr Bigstuff, a series in which Ryan Sampson and Danny Dyer play estranged brothers trying to patch up their rivalry. The network has also revealed festive comedy drama Joy To The World, released more details on Smothered, an Intelligence special, the forthcoming Dreamland, and Brassic Series 5.
Tommy Cannon to embark on first solo tour
Tommy Cannon, one half of legendary double act Cannon & Ball, is embarking on his first ever solo tour. He'll tour the show Rock On Tommy between September 2023 and May 2024.
Channel 4 to launch rap mockumentary series Dropped
Channel 4 is to launch Dropped, an online sitcom series about a pair of music stars aiming to keep up with the latest trends.
Geoff Norcott announces Basic Bloke tour
Geoff Norcott is to tour the UK between 6th September 2023 and 27th April 2024 with the stand-up show Basic Bloke.
FYI
Plus: Charlie Higson & Paul Whitehouse considering The Fast Show memoir; Lee Kyle piloting Steve! sitcom with Game Of Thrones star Ben Crompton; The Cleaner Series 2 guest stars; Everyone Else Burns sets All 4 viewers on fire; Comic Relief launch new nose ahead of Red Nose Day on 17th March; Dom Joly is planning a Trigger Happy TV spin-off; Sami Abu Wardeh lands Channel 4 satire on the super-rich, The Sheikh; Alison Hammond joins Sky's On Demand pilot; and Only Fools And Horses The Musical to close 29th April.
Advert
Winner's Curse
Wed 8 Feb – Sat 11 March
at Park Theatre (London - Finsbury Park tube is a two-minute walk)
Making war is a dirty business. So is making peace... Join us for the brand-new comedy drama, Winner's Curse, co-written by Mock the Week's Dan Patterson, with former Middle East peace negotiator Daniel Taub. Over the negotiating table of a high-stakes international peace talk between two rival states, don't miss this world premiere with razor-sharp humour, audience interaction and an all-star cast.
Features
Nick Hancock's Second Half
He's as 1990s-iconic as Pierre van Hooijdonk, and still benefits from those old shows. Now Nick Hancock is back talking football every week - and recalling a unique career.
First Gig, Worst Gig: The Thinking Drinkers
What happens when The Thinking Drinkers and our Q&A come together? It's First Drink, Worst Drink!
British Comedy Quiz #239
Who runs the coffee shop in Blackadder? Where did Captain Hans Geering go? How did David Brent finally make his staff laugh? What did Arthur Tolcher play? Those questions, and more.
Advert
Kirsty Mann brings MESS to VAULT on 18th & 19th Feb. Kirsty has a secret, and this is a confession. A hilarious and confronting true story about a double life from "smart character comic" (The Scotsman), Funny Women Awards finalist and "wo-mann of many talents" (Not The Front Row). "Excellent" (Metro), "Phenomenal" (Entertainment Now), "Grabs the gig by the funny bits" (The Scotsman), "Say it again, with bells on; this is Edinburgh Fringe at its best" ✭✭✭✭✭(Ed Fest Magazine).
TV listings
Everyone Else Burns
In this fourth episode Fiona is starting to feel suffocated by David's bi-weekly dates, and at school, Aaron is encouraged to stop drawing non-believers being tortured in Hell.
Buffering
Episode 2. After the break-up with Greg, Ashley and the others go to a singles night where Iain bumps awkwardly into his ex Olivia.
The Family Pile
The sisters grow tired of Nicole's bossy attitude and her behaviour pushes them all to breaking point. Meanwhile, Yvette finds support in the wrong place, Ursula has a health scare, and Gaynor is livid when the buyers return for another viewing.
Hold The Front Page
This final episode was filmed in August at the Edinburgh Festival. With thousands of shows all over the city, the boys are given the job of reviewing acts for the paper.
Guessable?
Sara Pascoe and the regulars welcome Sophie Duker, Rosie Jones, Fatiha El-Ghorri and Jamie Laing to play another round of absurd guessing games.
Funny Woman
A new comedy drama series starring Gemma Arterton, based on Nick Hornby's book Funny Girl. It follows factory worker Barbara Parker as she sets off for London on a mission to reinvent herself and find her voice in the male-dominated world of the sitcom.
Would I Lie To You?
Bob Mortimer is back on the show, and we're sure you're aware his appearances are normally a talking point! Plus: Munya Chawawa, Professor Alice Roberts and radio presenter Snoochie Shy.
QI
Sandi Toksvig takes a look at tubes and tubas with Bridget Christie, Sara Pascoe, Deborah Frances-White and series regular Alan Davies.
Jon & Lucy's Odd Couples
TV presenter Ore Oduba and his wife Portia take on comedian couple Harriet Kemsley and Bobby Mair. Can they pack a car without having an argument? And just how well do the couples know each other in the wardrobe department?
Live At The Apollo
Tez Ilyas welcomes Spring Day and Ignacio Lopez to the stage as the latest series of the stand-up format concludes.
The Last Leg
Adam, Alex and Josh are set to discuss all the latest news and events with guests including Dara O Briain and Vick Hope.
Fantasy Football League
This week's celebrity guest managers are Arsenal fan Roman Kemp and Newcastle supporter Gabby Logan.
The Graham Norton Show
Salma Hayek, Julianne Moore, Johannes Radebe and Shania Twain are lined up to talk to Graham this Friday.
Michael McIntyre's Big Show
There's a rude awakening for Alexander Armstrong when he plays the Midnight Gameshow, Olly Murs performs, and Stacey Dooley plays Send To All. Meanwhile a pair of Unexpected Stars of the Show are invited to perform a duet.
Bad Education
Stephen is desperate to get rid of Mitchell, who has moved in after his girlfriend threw him out. So Class K and Stephen give Mitchell a glow up in the hope she'll take him back.
For a complete list of TV and radio broadcasts, including repeats, see our full schedule.
Shop
 |
Triangle Of SadnessHaving won the Palme d'Or last year, this part-British-produced comedy is now a triple-Oscar-nominee. In Ruben Östlund's wickedly funny satire social hierarchy is turned upside down, revealing the tawdry relationship between power and beauty. Celebrity model couple Carl and Yaya are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged, drunken Marxist captain (Woody Harrelson). What first appears instagrammable ends catastrophically, after a violent storm, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting for survival. |
|
Blackadder's Historical RecordDemon Records presents all four TV series of the iconic sitcom classic on vinyl LP for the very first time - with an exclusive frameable print signed by Sir Tony Robinson. Rescued from a dusty shelf in a long-forgotten archive, Blackadder's Historical Record brings the bawdy, brutal and blithering bits of history to life via 24 full-cast TV soundtrack episodes. Housed in a leather-look rigid box with lift-off lid are a 12" frameable print portrait of Baldrick, a colour illustrated booklet detailing cast, transmission and production credits (with sleeve notes from Sir Tony Robinson), and 12 opulent, gold colour 140g vinyl discs housed inside a dozen splendidly era-inspired inner sleeves. |
 |
The HarpoonNominated for a British Comedy Award for Best Radio Comedy, The Harpoon is a nostalgic, spiffing spoof of adventure story papers for boys from yesteryear - but on the wireless. In the style of publications such as the Boys' Own Paper - but with its tongue firmly in its cheek - it features a veritable feast of thrilling serials, 'How-Tos', readers' letters and patent cures - all introduced by 'your old chum, the Editor'. Flick through its pages to find out about whaling for the under-fives, broadcasting secrets, the complete story of evolution from Little Blobby Thing to Homo Erectus Britishus Imperius and great beverages from history. There's also a star-spangled American issue (howdee y'all!), a 'Laughing through the Depression' budget edition, a lovingly hand-tooled issue incorporating Lathe Monthly and a special wartime edition which asks such pertinent questions as Do you know your submarines? Are you bored with your biscuits? and, most importantly, Are you German? |
|
Keep The Aspidistra FlyingGordon Comstock (Richard E. Grant) quits his job at an advertising agency to write poetry; which appals his girlfriend, Rosemary (Helena Bonham Carter), as her hopes for an imminent marriage and comfortable, middle-class life are ruined. When writing full-time and earning money proves difficult, Gordon sinks lower and lower in his residential and financial circumstances. But Gordon stubbornly pursues his dream... |
|
Doc Martin - Complete Series One To TenThis mammoth box set includes all 10 series of Doc Martin, and its special feature-length episodes. If you've not entered yet, we have a copy to give away. |
For more, see our full list of new releases and items coming soon.
Comedy videos
If every TV show was hosted by Alan Cumming
Susan Harrison points out that Alan Cumming is the most incredible host on the US Traitors and it'd be great if he presented everything from now on.
My Happy Ending - Trailer
Andie MacDowell stars as a famous actor who goes incognito to seek treatment for a medical issue in this new film coming to cinemas later this year.
Hapless - Series 2 trailer
Starring Tim Downie, Jeany Spark, Josh Howie and Michael Fenton Stevens, a second series of the sitcom Hapless has been filmed and will be coming to a UK streaming platform later this year.
V.I.Pees - Deno
What happens when you put Stormzy's protege in a toilet cubicle? He turns hymns into beats, obviously. Singer Deno joins Manchester's finest baby-faced comedian Josh Jones in the interview-based web series.
OnlyFans Creative Fund: Comedy Edition
This documentary series, in which ten comedians compete in a stand-up competition to win the £100,000, has now started on the OnlyFans platform (you can watch without signing in). Aside from performing, they must undertake a series of comedy-related challenges like, first up, creating a viral video. Mae Martin, Jamali Maddix and London Hughes judge the final.
Brett Domino: Lola
A song containing exclusively four-letter words. "Don't meet many girl like Lola."
Comedy Central Live - Kemah Bob
Kemah Bob loves England's obsession with big words and talks about how an exam forced her to flee America...
Sound Boy
A sound technician (Freddie Meredith) prepares an actor (Ellie White) in this six-minute short.
Spotlight
Living The Dream
Late US sitcom star Leslie Jordan was a key fixture in this Sky comedy drama, which ran for two series from 2017, about an English family of four who move to Florida to start a new life running a caravan park. From producers Big Talk, the show starred Philip Glenister and Lesley Sharp, and was filmed on location between Georgia, Florida and Spain as the family combatted American life, laws, duplicitous competitors and an array of troublesome residents - both human and animal!
Thanks for reading
Gavin Webb submitted the winner for the hat-based BCG Pro Gag-a-Week competition:
I wear hats to hide my bald patch. My friend said I should buy a wig but I don't want toupee.
We've lost access to our Twitter account due to a verification mix-up. It's taking ages to get it sorted, so if you happen to know anyone who works at Twitter please do get in touch with us as we need their help!
British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk
Join our mailing list