Weekly Newsletter |
Monday 13th January 2025 |
Latest comedy news
Comedy.co.uk Awards 2024 shortlists revealed
The shortlists for the annual Comedy.co.uk Awards, recognising the best television and radio comedy programming, have been announced after an initial round of voting.
Michael Redmond resurrects Eamon, Older Brother Of Jesus for TV
Father Ted star Michael Redmond is writing a sitcom about Jesus's brother for television, just as its original radio incarnation, Eamon, Older Brother Of Jesus, is finally heard on the BBC, almost 30 years after it was controversially axed on the eve of its broadcast.
Next Big Thing 2025 nominees announced
Celya AB, Dan Tiernan, Josh Pugh, Katie Norris, Michael Odewale, Olga Koch, Paddy Young, Rachel Fairburn, Rob Copland and Tarot have been announced as the inaugural nominees for an award naming comedy's Next Big Thing.
Vicar Of Dibley stamps released by Royal Mail
Royal Mail is releasing 12 stamps to celebrate The Vicar Of Dibley.
The Dry to return to ITVX for Series 3
Comedy drama The Dry is due to return to ITVX in 2026 for a third series.
Rob Beckett pilots Am I The A**hole? for Comedy Central
Rob Beckett is piloting a panel show for Comedy Central based on comedians judging people's disputes, titled Am I The A**hole?.
Johnny Ball to publish memoir about comedy career
Kids' television legend Johnny Ball is to publish two volumes of memoirs, the first covering the initial parts of his showbusiness career as a stand-up comedian.
FYI
Richard Gadd says he's left comedy and the Edinburgh Fringe behind; Amandaland launches in February; Russell Howard: "I'm done with TV"; and Alan Cumming and Natalie Cassidy to guest star in Boarders Series 2.
Advert
Ignacio Lopez kicks off his 2025 tour this month! Catch the star of Live At The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, QI and more, as he embarks on his quest to build a better version of himself; stronger, smarter, funnier.
Señor Self Destruct is a riotously funny stand-up show from Spain's Best Export. Expect an armada of sarcasm, silliness, and razor sharp jokes on Ignacio's biggest ever tour.
Features
Comedy Chronicles: Mr Hobbs takes a vacation - When it all backfired for Jack Hobbs
Poor Jack Hobbs. The hilarious but embarrassing tale of what happened to the publisher of comedians' books on a train to Walton-on-Thames has been immortalised thanks to many retellings by his friend Spike Milligan.
Rogue Pun: Big beasts, small cast - Jurassic Park pastiche Hold On To Your Butts bestrides the UK
Huge dinosaurs recreated by two actors and a foley artist - how did Jurassic Park parody Hold On To Your Butts get off the ground?
Ania Magliano Q&A: Contraceptive coils, celebrity breakups and teeth
Ania Magliano talks about the inspiration for the content of her new tour show, what her creative process is like, and more.
British Comedy Quiz #339
Wild animals crop up regularly in British comedy. Here is a quiz themed around them.
Random 8: Claudia Trentino
The recently crowned New (Old) Act of the Year, Claudia Trentino talks Potter snubs, love via the Yellow Pages and why Strictly may never call.
Rogue Pun: Jason Barnett on working with Sigourney, and Mathew Horne, in The Tempest
He's working with Sigourney Weaver - and Mathew Horne - in The Tempest. But which role does Jason Barnett still get shouts about?
TV listings
QI
Jo Brand, Rhys James and Eshaan Akbar have to answer some tricky questions.
Live At The Apollo
Sara Pascoe introduces Amy Gledhill and Eddie Kadi to the stage.
A League Of Their Own
Luke Littler, Tom Davis and Alex Brooker join the panel show regulars.
Video Nasty
While their parents set off to find them, the teens arrive at their rendezvous, only to realise Fangoria Fangirl may not be all she seems.
Would I Lie To You?
Nabil Abdulrashid, Lucy Beaumont, broadcaster Gethin Jones and actor Francesca Mills join the regulars.
8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Jimmy Carr hosts as Jon Richardson and Guz Khan take on guest captain Katherine Ryan and Joe Wilkinson. Susie Dent is joined in Dictionary Corner by Alasdair Beckett-King.
The Graham Norton Show
Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey and Griff are set to appear this Friday.
Michael McIntyre's Big Show
An eighth series of the hit format in which Michael McIntyre mixes stand-up, music, pranks and games.
For a complete list of TV and radio broadcasts, including repeats, see our full schedule.
Shop
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Three Men Went To Mow - The Complete Series 1 And 2All eight episodes of the quirky sitcom about a team of council gardeners. Senior gardener Alec, his assistant Danny and new boy Jack are employed by the council to cut lawns, prune roses, trim hedges and maintain the municipal parks and gardens. What they actually do is spend their days hanging out in the potting shed, drinking tea and dodging the incessant rain and their short-sighted supervisor, Mr MacIntyre. Tony Osoba, Forbes Masson, Jack Docherty, Stuart Sinclair and Lewis MacLeod star. |
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Alma's Not Normal - Series 2The series is back and don't worry: Alma's still not normal. The eponymous Alma, from Bolton, continues to try to give her life meaning and the "fabulous" outcome she has always dreamed of, while coping with the strained relationships of her family that saw her spend time in care, something else which she is trying to reconcile. |
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Mind Your Language - The Complete LWT SeriesBarry Evans, fresh from his success in the Doctor... series, stars as Jeremy Brown, the hapless teacher for an evening class of foreign students who are hoping to become more proficient in the English language. With his students running the full spectrum of age and race, situations are ripe for misunderstandings in the classic sitcom style. Running for three successful series on ITV before being revived a decade later on Channel 4, this DVD reissue contains all 29 episodes from the original run. |
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Paul A. Mendelson - The Makings Of Emily JensenThe Makings Of Emily Jensen is a collection of short stories and novellas by BAFTA-nominated comedy writer Paul A. Mendelson (May To December, So Haunt Me, My Hero). The title story is a romantic comedy about a single woman in her late thirties who sets out to have a baby without any strings or attachments, but soon discovers that fathers need babies too. Better Late is an unusual ghost story where a middle-aged man meets the father he never knew: a 21-year-old biker who died before his son was even born. Penalty! is a memory tale; a man in his seventies happily recalls how he and his three school pals exacted poetic revenge on the Car-Washing Maniac of Number 43. The longest novella, SKI-ing, is all about murder. It's what two adult siblings decide to do when their rich but seriously awful parents suddenly announce that they are going SKI-ing (Spending Kids' Inheritance). But parenticide isn't easy, so they swiftly need 'professional' help. |
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The RebelComedy legend Tony Hancock makes his feature film-starring debut in this witty satire that takes both white-collar monotony and the pretensions of the art-world in its crosshairs, reissued here with a couple of new features. A self-taught artist with an enthusiasm that far exceeds any ability, Anthony Hancock throws in his hollow office job and moves to Paris to live his dream. Although he quickly finds acceptance among the bohemians and beatniks, legitimate critics scoff at his work. However, he begins to taste critical success when the art of his talented former roommate becomes confused with his own. |
For more, see our full list of new releases and items coming soon.
Comedy videos
Fin Vs The Internet - Chris Williamson
Fin Taylor makes the host of the Modern Wisdom Podcast, Chris Williamson, burst out laughing a lot with his inappropriate jokes.
QI - Series V behind-the-scenes banter
The QI producers say: "We've told the panellists not to be funny before the main show but they just won't listen!"
Comedy Central Live - Mary O'Connell
To some there may be more to life than charcuterie at 3am, but not to Mary O'Connell.
Spotlight
Room 101
Frank Skinner's revamped, lightly competitive version of the classic chat format Room 101 is - believe it or not - about to mark its thirteenth anniversary. Debuting in January 2012, it added a panel show element into the mix as not one but three celebrity guests put forward potential items, people, places and notions to be confined to Orwellian hell forever. It ran for seven series (compared to the original's eleven), and long-running previous host Paul Merton is now back at the helm in a fresh radio version of the first format, which returns later this year.
Thanks for reading
Alice Hancock has won the latest BCG Pro Gag-a-Week competition:
Last week I started a diet where I only eat coins. I haven't seen any change yet.
Please don't forget to vote in the Comedy.co.uk Awards.
British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk
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