Weekly Newsletter |
Monday 5th February 2024 |
Latest comedy news
Alan Partridge to return in new BBC comedy series And Did Those Feet
BBC One will broadcast And Did Those Feet... With Alan Partridge, a new six-part spoof documentary series starring Steve Coogan as his famous character.
Philomena Cunk to return in BBC special Cunk's Quest For Meaning
BBC Two will broadcast Cunk's Quest For Meaning, a one-off 75 minute special in which Diane Morgan will reprise her role as Philomena Cunk to try and discover the meaning of life.
Dreaming Whilst Black gets Series 2 commission
Dreaming Whilst Black, the comedy starring Adjani Salmon as an aspiring filmmaker, is to return to BBC Three for six more episodes.
Man Like Mobeen Series 5 confirmed
Man Like Mobeen, the sitcom starring Guz Khan, will return to BBC Three for a fifth series.
Dad's Army legend Ian Lavender dies aged 77
Ian Lavender, star of Dad's Army as the much-loved Private Pike, has died at the age of 77.
Gregor Fisher & Greg McHugh to star in BBC One sitcom Only Child
Gregor Fisher and Greg McHugh are reuniting to play father and son in a new BBC One sitcom, Only Child, in which McHugh is a budding author, returning to his family home in North-East Scotland to look after his recently widowed, ageing and wilful dad, (Fisher), as he slips into ever more eccentric and erratic behaviour.
Steve Brown, the prolific comedy composer, has died
Composer Steve Brown, who has worked with comedians including Harry Hill, has died of lung disease. TV viewers will remember him as Glenn Ponder from Knowing Me, Knowing You... With Alan Partridge.
Fawlty Towers to premiere on West End stage
John Cleese has adapted Fawlty Towers as a West End stage show. It'll premiere at London's Apollo Theatre in May.
The Pin's Ben Ashenden & Alexander Owen pen Amazon film Deep Cover
Sketch comedy duo Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen, AKA The Pin, have written Deep Cover, their cinematic screenwriting debut, an Amazon Prime Video action comedy about improv actors infiltrating London's criminal gangs with an all-star cast and crew.
Stan & Gran preschool comedy to air on Channel 5
Channel 5's Milkshake! strand has commissioned Stan & Gran, a 52-part animated comedy aimed at preschoolers. The "funny and heart-warming" format focuses on a 7 year-old boy and his grandmother investigating mysterious goings-on.
Lenny Henry to host Red Nose Day for final time on Friday 15th March
Rosie Jones, Dame Joan Collins and Simon Cowell are amongst the celebrities who appear in a video sketch to announce Red Nose Day 2024 will take place on Friday 15th March. Sir Lenny Henry has revealed that this will be his final time hosting the fundraising show.
The Real Ken Dodd film lobbies for creation of national comedy museum
Ken Dodd is to be the subject of a major new documentary celebrating his life and legacy, with hopes that the film will help realise his dream for a national comedy museum. The Real Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved will premiere at the City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds on 9th June, when the performing space in the Victorian theatre is renamed The Sir Ken Dodd Auditorium in honour of his many appearances at the venue.
Fern Brady wins Nero Book Awards prize
Fern Brady's book Strong Female Character is the Non-Fiction category winner in the inaugural Nero Book Awards.
Stevens & McCarthy and The Chief return to BBC Scotland
BBC One Scotland has commissioned a series of new sketch show Stevens & McCarthy, as well as a spin-off sitcom from Scot Squad following Jack Docherty as The Chief.
Advert
The WeGotTickets Musical Comedy Awards are back for their 16th year, celebrating the creative collision between music and comedy. Previous alumni include top acts such as Rachel Parris, Abandoman, Mae Martin and Jazz Emu. If you enjoy comedians like Bill Bailey, Tim Minchin and Victoria Wood, these shows are for you! Catch the UK's finest emerging musical comedy acts alongside established headliners. The heats are currently running in London on Saturday afternoons. Info & tickets
Features
Comedy Rewind: Drop The Dead Donkey - Making and breaking the headlines
We look back at classic 1990s newsroom-set comedy Drop The Dead Donkey, a sitcom that pondered whether journalistic integrity can prevail in a world where only a wealthy few have the power to set the agenda.
Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Auton - Mark Muldoon's Comedy Diary
Here's what our live comedy columnist thought as the major new tour from Romesh Ranganathan kicks in. Plus: Boundless poetic beauty courtesy of Rob Auton.
Launching Red Dwarf: Series I retrospective
A look back at the creation of Red Dwarf. The sci-fi sitcom nearly launched with a very different cast.
British Comedy Quiz #291
What was The Prince of Denmark? Who starred in The Piglet Files? Where was The Squirrels set? What was the supermarket name in Trollied? Those are some of this week's questions.
Random 8: The Thinking Drinkers
It's very nearly Valentine's Day, so The Thinking Drinkers give us two seductive booze suggestions, and eight random answers.
TV listings
Katherine Ryan: Parental Guidance
A new fly-on-the-wall entertainment-documentary format observing Katherine Ryan and her family. She investigates different parenting techniques in each episode.
QI
'Ultras' is this week's theme, and the guests are Jordan Gray, Jason Manford and Sara Pascoe.
Andrew Maxwell: Yo Contraire
A TV broadcast of Andrew Maxwell's stand-up show in which he presents 'thought provoking anecdotes alongside hard-nosed and political and social commentary'.
Billy Connolly Does...
A third series of the format mixing together new interview material with the stand-up star with his classic stand-up routines. This opening episode focuses on the topic of 'Scottish pride'.
Horrible Histories
From warring brothers to farting mothers, Horrible Histories presents some of the biggest, best and worst rivalries throughout time.
Here We Go
Having moved in with the Jessops, Sue loses no time installing herself into the local scene, starting by organising the street fayre with neighbour and pillar of the community, Edgar (guest star Harry Enfield).
Would I Lie To You?
Singers Sinitta and Johnny Marr and comedians Jo Brand and Ivo Graham join the regular trio.
8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Jon Richardson and Asim Chaudhry take on Joe Wilkinson and Roisin Conaty. Lucy Pearman is in Dictionary Corner.
I Literally Just Told You
Jimmy Carr hosts another episode of this game show in which contestants are given every answer with the questions written, literally, as the show is happening.
Fantasy Football League
Alex Horne and Katherine Ryan enter the dugout this week as they share their thoughts on the beautiful game with hosts Matt Lucas and Elis James.
The Graham Norton Show
Josh Widdicombe is set to appear this week, alongside Ian McKellen, Michael Sheen, Ambika Mod and Gabrielle.
Michael McIntyre's Big Show
At the time of sending this, there's no news yet on the line-up for this weekend's show, but regular viewers will know to expect the usual mix of format points involving surprises.
Big Boys
The final episode of the second series. Everyone stakes out at Watford Hospital for a long night in the maternity ward.
For a complete list of TV and radio broadcasts, including repeats, see our full schedule.
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Little People, BIG DREAMS: Lenny HenryIn this book from the a series entitled Little People, BIG DREAMS, discover the incredible life of Sir Lenny Henry, the multi-talented comedian, actor, writer and activist - in aid of Comic Relief. Ever since he was small, Lenny Henry wanted to be a comedian. At home in Dudley he would pretend to be the characters he watched on TV, copying scenes from his favourite shows to entertain his six brothers and sisters. But life wasn't always easy, and at school Lenny found himself the subject of racist bullying - until he figured out a way to beat the bullies using humour. This was when he realised he had a gift: he could make people laugh. |
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Joyce Grenfell Remembered: The Pursuit Of JoyThis radio collection celebrates the brilliant Joyce Grenfell in her own words and through the eyes of Maureen Lipman. Grenfell was one of the last century's greatest entertainers, renowned worldwide for her monologues, songs, and comic writing. Her career spanned over 30 years, ranging from wartime tours to solo stage shows, films such as the St Trinian's series, appearances on BBC TV and numerous radio broadcasts. Contained here are five sparkling productions of her work, performed by acting legend Maureen Lipman - who is celebrated for portraying Joyce in the 1991 TV film Re-Joyce - alongside a delightful reading by Joyce herself of her autobiography. |
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Jessica Fostekew - WenchA show about Jess's mid-life metamorphosis: adventures in promiscuity, privilege and pubes. She's finding her feet as a queer Mum and suffice to say, it's not been entirely plain sailing. You've seen Jessica on Life At The Apollo, Ql and Travel Man as well as in BBC's Motherland and current hit feature film Scrapper. She's a regular co-host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, the host and creator of the Hoovering podcast, and you hear her regularly on BBC Radio 4's The News Quiz and The Now Show. Her own R4 series, Jessica Fostekew: Sturdy Girls Club met rave reviews and has been commissioned for a second series. Nominated for the Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Show in 2019, Jess's show Hench went on to become an Amazon Prime Video special winning Best Show and Best Act in the Chortle Awards 2020. This is its hotly-anticipated follow-up. |
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On The Buses - Film CollectionHold on for a non-stopping service of laughs with all three films spinning off from the popular LWT sitcom, on Blu-ray for the first time worldwide. On The Buses became an international hit, with a dedicated fanbase still active to this day. The misadventures of bus driver Stan Butler, his dysfunctional family, mate-in-mischief Jack, and overbearing boss Blakey were so successful that Hammer Films produced not one but three wildly successful big screen adaptations that sent the sitcom premise on a new route. Hop on board with comedy legends Reg Varney, Doris Hare, Michael Robbins, Anna Karen, Bob Grant and Stephen Lewis in all three films, restored in stunning high definition and presented on Blu-ray for the very first time worldwide, including a 40-page booklet reprinting original press materials, a brand new commentary, original trailers, photo galleries, interviews and plenty else about the making of the films that will delight any fan of the type of accessible, working class humour that is now seldom produced. |
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Ghosts - Series 5The residents of Button House - the living and the dead - are back as the BAFTA-nominated supernatural sitcom returns for its fifth and final series. The unlikely house share between Mike and Alison and their afterlife tenants continues to cause comedy chaos. There's April fools' high jinks between Alison and the ghosts. Meanwhile, Mike struggles to handle the insurance claim on the gate house fire (yes, lightning really does strike thrice). And can a visit from an antiques dealer be the answer to all Mike and Alison's money woes or is a golf consortium and buddying up with nosey neighbour Barclay really the best option? Needless to say, there are laughs aplenty in this final series. Also includes both the 2022 and 2023 Christmas specials. A complete box set of all five series is also available. |
For more, see our full list of new releases and items coming soon.
Comedy videos
Fin Vs The Internet - Elle Brooke
Fin Taylor tries out some cheeky (and not safe for work) jokes on OnlyFans star turned boxer, Elle Brooke.
G'wed
All six episodes of this sitcom set around a group of school kids in Liverpool are now on ITVX. If you want to give the show a try without signing in to the streaming platform and getting all the ads, click through to our site for the full first episode on YouTube.
Double Date
It's always worth making an effort. A sketch by the Jamaica Street Boys.
Comedy Central Live - Dane Baptiste
Dane Baptiste considers ball-tox, Dubai bum-guns, and pulling your-mum.
Spotlight
On The Beat
Filmed largely on location in the shadow of Windsor Castle and released at Christmas 1962, On The Beat is one of the most popular films from comedy and cinema star Norman Wisdom. He leads in a dual role as wannabe policeman Norman Pitkin and high society hairdresser Julio Neapolitani, who becomes embroiled in an outrageous scheme as the Metropolitan Police attempt to infiltrate a major London crime ring. The farcial joy also ropes the likes of Raymond Huntley, David Lodge, Esma Cannon and Terence Alexander into events. Get this delightful caper on DVD now, or find a stream via our website.
Thanks for reading
Gavin Webb has won the latest BCG Pro Gag-a-Week competition:
I went to the 24 hour garage to fill up on booze. Now the Volvo won't start.
British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk
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