Weekly Newsletter |
Monday 16th October 2023 |
Latest comedy news
Worzel Gummidge Down Under & complete Blu-ray box set
The popular children's comedy sequel Worzel Gummidge Down Under has been restored for a new Blu-ray release, alongside a new complete box set with its preceding series.
Blackadder coming to Blu-ray
All original BBC television episodes of Blackadder have been restored and remastered in HD for a new Blu-ray release, coming next month.
Two missing Till Death Us Do Part episodes found
Two more missing episodes of the landmark BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part have been found.
Janine Harouni to tour Man'oushe show
Janine Harouni is heading off on her first ever UK tour, with her stand-up show Man'oushe.
Missing Hancock's Half Hour with Harry Secombe discovered
The only episode of Hancock's Half Hour featuring both the eponymous star and Harry Secombe has been located by radio enthusiast Richard Harrison.
Rosie Holt to embark on 2024 tour
Political character comedy show Rosie Holt: That's Politainment! will tour in April and May 2024.
Mike Yarwood's daughters front documentary about his career
Mike Yarwood: Thank You For The Laughs will air on Channel 5 on Saturday 21st October. The 90 minute special sees the impressionist's two daughters examining his rise to fame and sudden exit from public life.
Withnail & I to premiere as stage show in 2024
Bruce Robinson's 1987 British comedy film Withnail & I is being adapted as a stage show. It will premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in May 2024.
FYI
Memorial held for Bernard Cribbins; Delightful Sausage publish Ginster's Paradise show on YouTube; Kevin Bridges' Overdue Catch-up to be screened in cinemas; Harriet Kemsley releases Woman Child stand-up special; Tim Key publishes his third volume of poetry, Chapters; Gold to air Dad's Army animations; and Lou Sanders signs up for Dancing On Ice.
Advert
The West End’s ‘triumphant’ (★★★★ The Sun) new magic show, UNBELIEVABLE, fuses 'jaw-dropping' (★★★★ WhatsGoodToDo) magic with illusion, sleight of hand and mind reading.
In a re-imagining of live magic, a company of multi-talented performers and musicians bring you an original evening of 'genuine, baffled amazement’ (The I Newspaper). When you step inside the Criterion Theatre you become the beating heart of the production and after experiencing UNBELIEVABLE ‘you’ll believe in magic’ (★★★★ Daily Mail).
Features
Comedy Rewind - Bringing down the House: Yes Minister
With a new "final chapter" stage play now running, we examine the timeless comedy of political machinations, Yes Minister, and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister.
Colin Geddis / Leith Comedy Festival / Joe McTernan - Bobby Carroll's Comedy Diary
Bobby Carroll checked out some of the shows at Leith Comedy Festival, and checked out Colin Geddis at Monkey Barrel.
British Comedy Quiz #275
This time: Still Game, Baldy Man, My Boomerang Won't Come Back, Hattie Jacques, and more.
TV listings
Big Zuu's Big Eats
Zuu and the boys welcome Ellie Taylor to Mandem HQ. For her Big Eat, Zuu gives Ellie a B&B style breakfast buffet with a Peking duck twist and it's one she won't forget in a hurry.
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Danny Goffey and Freya Ridings join the regulars for some music-linked fun.
Outsiders
It is Day Two in camp and the Outsiders are surprised by a stranger who is silently watching their every move.
BBC New Comedy Awards
The Northern Irish heat in Ballymena is hosted by Shane Todd, with judges Martin Angolo and Diona Doherty.
Taskmaster
Susan Wokoma finds something hidden in a flower, Lucy Beaumont gets handy with loo roll, and Julian Clary makes some kitchen receptacles look a bit sinister. Meanwhile, Alex Horne gets intimidated by Sam Campbell.
Brassic
The last time Erin saw her dad was 15 years ago, before he ran off for good. Now he's dead he's re-entered Erin's life being as big a nuisance as ever.
Still Up
Distance weighs on Lisa. Danny gets a second chance. Veggie starts to spiral.
Ghosts
Alison and Mike invite Barclay to discuss the land sale but are quickly forced to play hardball. Meanwhile, the ghosts become fixated on solving the mystery of Kitty's death.
Have I Got News For You
Bill Bailey guest hosts the topical comedy show, with Daliso Chaponda and journalist Helen Lewis set to join Ian and Paul.
Jon & Lucy's Odd Couples
The last episode in this series from January finally gets aired. (We've no idea why such a delay.) Made In Chelsea's Jamie Laing and partner Sophie Habboo take on comedians Rachel Parris and Marcus Brigstocke.
Breeders
The fourth and final series of the dark comedy about parenting. Five years later, Paul and Ally are on the verge of splitting and Jim and Jackie are in turmoil.
The Graham Norton Show
Featuring Patrick Stewart, Nadiya Hussain, Bella Ramsey (star of The Last Of Us), Dame Joan Collins and music from Zak Abel.
Mike Yarwood: Thank You For The Laughs
As you may have read in our news section above, this documentary will focus on the ups and downs of the impressionist's career.
Blankety Blank
Bradley Walsh interacts with Fred Sirieix, Laura Whitmore, Eddie Kadi, Josh Widdicombe, Vanessa Feltz and Scarlett Moffatt.
For a complete list of TV and radio broadcasts, including repeats, see our full schedule.
Shop
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Our Man In HavanaFirst time on Blu-ray in the UK for this comedy classic. Based on the novel by Graham Greene, British expatriate Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness) runs a vacuum cleaner store in Havana, Cuba. He has promised his vain daughter, Milly (Jo Morrow), a horse and a country club membership, which leaves him desperate for money. When Hawthorne (Noel Coward) proposes he become a paid British agent and recruit other spies, he accepts, and haplessly embarks on a new career. |
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Garth Marenghi's IncarceratA new comic horror novel from Matthew Holness, written in character as Garth Marenghi, following the huge success of last year's TerrorTome. Horror novelist Nick Steen is abducted and imprisoned at Nulltec, a shadowy technological research facility with excellent conference parking, concealed deep on the Stalkford Downs. There he is observed, tested and 'interfered with' (physically) by a team of scientific experts led by Dr Barbara Nullman, determined to probe and 'nullify' his escaping imagination... |
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Joe Wilkinson: My AutobiographyHere before you is Joe Wilkinson's brilliantly absurd account of his time on - and briefly off - planet Earth. Through cartoon stories and illustrated adventures, Joe recounts the defining moments that have come to shape and scar him - from becoming the bad boy of fly tipping and growing into his areolas, to his car airbag addiction and the time he tunnelled too far out of prison and ended up in the prison next door. Treating us to an assortment of genre-defying stories, Joe blows his readers' minds with the key events of his utterly pointless life. "Hilarious, heart-warming and wildly entertaining", Joe Wilkinson: My Autobiography is the off-the-wall life story of one of our most unorthodox comedians. |
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You'll Have Had Your Tea: The Doings Of Hamish & DougalThe complete collection of The Doings Of Hamish And Dougal, the adventures of two elderly Scotsmen played by Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, spinning off from hit comedy I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. Now they've got their own series, with Mrs Naughtie (Alison Steadman) and a local Laird (Jeremy Hardy), regularly keeping the duo busy. |
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Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing - Series 6Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse return for the sixth series of their hit BBC Two show. Having concluded last week, this series sees the pair visiting the UK's oldest pub, camping overnight on the shores of a carp lake and celebrating their faithful hound Ted's birthday. Once again they travel across the UK and cast their lines in Wales, Shropshire, Wiltshire, the Scottish Borders, Driffield Beck in Yorkshire and Burgh Island off the Devon coast, with special guest Lee Mack. Also includes the wonderful 2022 Christmas special. |
For more, see our full list of new releases and items coming soon.
Comedy videos
Brassic - Behind the scenes on Series 5
Aaron Heffernan guides viewers around the set of Series 5 of the hit Sky comedy drama.
Context is dead - Broken News
A news report on how tributes have been paid following the death of 'Context'.
Rejected Bake Off contestants
You only see the bakers that make it onto the show. Here are the weirdos who were rejected from The Great British Bake Off.
Sex Education - Series 4 bloopers
Six minutes of footage which didn't make the final edit of the Netflix comedy drama.
The Bystanders - Trailer
This off-the-wall sci-fi comedy film starring Seann Walsh is due to arrive in cinemas on 3rd November.
Blarp's Date
Sometimes the urge to be a clown is just too much to handle.
Bitter Pubs - The Last Ashtray
The Last Ashtray is about a landlady who decides to keep all the ashtrays after the smoking ban and their fate from that point.
Dominic Frisby: Programmable Money
Dominic Frisby's music video explore the future world of Central Bank Digital Currency, surveillance, and resistance.
Comedy Central Live - Sikisa
Sikisa tells Comedy Central Live about the dangers of travelling as a black woman and the dilemmas of dating young lads...
Spotlight
Esma Cannon
Wednesday this week will be the anniversary of Esma Cannon's death: a household name she may not be, but to audiences of British comedy - particularly on film - from the late 1930s well into the 1960s, a reliably joyous performer and wonderful, evocative face she was. Click through to see her key credits, and find out more about her fascinating career and Australian origins in this Comedy Chronicles article from Graham McCann.
Thanks for reading
Kamien Deane has won the latest BCG Pro Gag-a-Week competition on the nebulous starting topic of 'remote':
Is it called a remote control because it never seems to be nearby when I'm looking for it?
If you're interested in comedy writing, performing or producing, head over to our BCG Pro website for tools, insight, advice and more.
British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk
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