Weekly Newsletter |
Monday 17th February 2025 |
Latest comedy news
Gavin & Stacey leads Comedy.co.uk Awards winners
Gavin & Stacey has been named Comedy Of The Year in the Comedy.co.uk Awards 2024. Daddy Issues has picked up the Best New TV Sitcom title, with other winners including Wing It, Horrible Histories and Taskmaster.
Ben Elton receives Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend award
Ben Elton has picked up the award for Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend 2025.
Dave Gorman series drops episode because of Gregg Wallace allegations
The revival of Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish has dropped an episode featuring Gregg Wallace following historical allegations of sexual harassment against the MasterChef presenter.
Samantha Day wins Silver Stand-Up 2025 competition
Samantha Day has won the 2025 Silver Stand-Up competition, for acts over the age of 55.
Mitchell & Webb return to sketch on Channel 4
David Mitchell and Robert Webb are reuniting to make a new sketch show for Channel 4.
Sydney May wins Komedia New Comedy Award 2025
Stand-up Sydney May impressed the judges with her routine about blindness to win the Komedia New Comedy Award 2025.
Tarot win Next Big Thing 2025 award
Sketch group Tarot have been announced as the inaugural winner of the award naming comedy's Next Big Thing.
Josh Jones announces 2025 tour
Following on from his appearances on Dancing On Ice, Josh Jones is to travel the UK with new stand-up show I Haven't Won The Lottery So Here's Another Tour Show.
Molly Mole wins Lounges.tv competition
Stand-up Molly Mole has won the Lounges.tv comedy competition, which features an agency contract as its prize.
Jen Brister to tour Reactive stand-up show
Stand-up show Jen Brister: Reactive will tour the UK from October 2025 through to May 2026.
Will BF wins UK Pun Championship 2025
The 2025 UK Pun Championship has been won by Will BF.
Big Mood to return for Series 2
Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West are to return to Channel 4 for a second series of Big Mood.
FYI
Ahir Shah and the mysterious case of his fake mum and dad; Armando Iannucci & Chris Morris interviewed for BBC arts documentary; Radio 4 requests more Unspeakable; Terry Jones statue campaign reaches target; Katherine Ryan, Jason Manford and Meera Syal join Sky's Tinsel Town; Elliot Steel to host weekly late-night Saturday show in London; Best in Class 2025 line-up revealed; and Jack Dee recalls his first monkey suit.
Advert
Soho Theatre opens a second London venue in May bringing the best of their acclaimed programme to an even bigger (and dare we say fancier) stage, Soho Theatre Walthamstow.
Inaugural programme kicks off with Natalie Palamides' WEER, BCG's #1 Comedy for 2024, and includes new shows from Tim Minchin, Josie Long, Suzi Ruffell, Josh Johnson, Jon Ronson and Kiell Smith-Bynoe. Live shows from On Cinema Live!, Brown Girls Do It Too and Tifo. And Neon Nights, Soho's brand-new monthly showcase includes Sara Pascoe, Rosie Jones, Phil Wang, Sam Campbell, Bridget Christie, Urooj Ashfaq & so much more.
Features
Jack Docherty returns as The Chief
Jack Docherty is back on screens in The Chief, a new spin-off from the wonderfully ridiculous mockumentary Scot Squad.
First Gig, Worst Gig: Lauren Pattison
Heading to Leicester and beyond, Lauren Pattison talks headline joy, back-row aggro, and the most torturous train story you've ever heard.
Win Tony Hancock films The Rebel and The Punch And Judy Man
We've two prize packages, containing a new copy of each film on Blu-ray, to give away.
British Comedy Quiz #344
A whole quiz about cakes seen in British comedy. Can you put the icing on top by getting full marks?
TV listings
Boarders
Two more episodes of the comedy drama. When Rupert makes a discovery, shocking truths are revealed.
At Home With Katherine Ryan
Instead of studying for her all-important GCSEs, Violet's jaw-dropping act of teenage rebellion forces Katherine to stage an intervention.
Amandaland
Anne takes on the herculean task of teaching teenagers. Meanwhile, Amanda gets a job at Kichen's Kitchens and Bathrooms.
Am I Being Unreasonable?
Nic and Dan are worried about the effect their separation is having on Ollie, so they decide to try couples therapy. Nic shares a confession with Jen.
A League Of Their Own
Everton manager Sean Dyche joins the panel alongside Alan Carr and Toffees superfan Tony Bellew.
The Chief
A new sitcom based on the central character from Scot Squad. In this opening episode, the Chief embraces a new government scheme that offers ex-offenders a job in the police force.
G'wed
The countdown for a legendary party called Scousechella is on, but Christopher is struggling with the anniversary of his mother's passing away.
Horrible Histories
How long does it take to build a pyramid? Why didn't people like the Statue of Liberty? Why are there pineapples on St Paul's?
Would I Lie To You?
John Cooper Clarke, Lucia Keskin, Kadiff Kirwan and Sara Pascoe join the regulars.
Eric Sykes: 50 Years Of Laughs
A new profile of Eric Sykes, the much-celebrated writer and performer.
Funboys
After a gas leak at his flat, Callum moves in with Lorcan and his dad, Sammy.
The Last Leg
Sir Lenny Henry, Oti Mabuse and Jamali Maddix are scheduled for this week's show.
The Graham Norton Show
Chris O'Dowd appears to talk about new TV show Small Town, Big Story. Plus: Ewan McGregor, Kate Hudson, Naomie Harris and Self Esteem.
Michael McIntyre's Big Show
Holly Willoughby plays Remember Me, Perrie Edwards is woken up for a Midnight Gameshow, and an Unexpected Star of the Show gets the surprise of their life.
The Jonathan Ross Show
Gordon Ramsay, Danny Dyer, Vanessa Williams, Keely Hodgkinson, Harris Dickinson and Joan Armatrading will be the guests.
Big Boys
The final two episodes. The blue shed gets packed up as dissertations are handed in and old hometowns await.
For a complete list of TV and radio broadcasts, including repeats, see our full schedule.
Shop
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Fatiha El-Ghorri - The Perks Of My HijabFrom rising star comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri comes an empowering and funny children's novel about family and identity. Thirteen-year-old Aya Mutsafa has more brothers and sisters than she can keep track of. Ten siblings, and her mum and dad - all living under the one roof. Who has time to remember that many names? However, when she realises one day that her eccentric Moroccan mum has forgotten which of her own children she is, Aya decides she needs to establish her identity in this world. Create her own USP. Stand out. She decides she's going to wear a hijab. Turns out that wearing a hijab is a lot more complicated than it looks! |
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Laurel & Hardy: The Silent Years - 1928The most celebrated comedy duo in cinema history, England's Stan Laurel and America's Oliver Hardy formed their decades-long partnership in the late 1920s in a series of silent shorts produced at the Hal Roach Studios. This collection brings together the films they appeared in during 1928, as their partnership began to gather steam: Leave 'em Laughing sees Stan desperately seeking treatment for a toothache; You're Darn Tootin' follows the pair as they turn their hand to busking; in From Soup To Nuts, the boys are hired as waiters for an upper-class dinner party; and in Early To Bed, Ollie gets to enjoy the highlife for himself when he inherits a fortune and buys an opulent mansion... but Stan soon finds ways to lower its market value. This collection also features the first Hal Roach film to officially bill Laurel & Hardy as a duo: Should Married Men Go Home?, in which a relaxing trip to the golf course quickly spirals into chaos. This 2-disc set presents all films as new HD restorations on Blu-ray, mastered from the best available materials. |
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Gavin & Stacey - The Complete CollectionWritten by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones, this award winning series follows the ongoing romance between Essex boy Gavin (Mathew Horne) and Barry lass Stacey (Joanna Page) - not to mention the bickering, romances and relationships of their fascinatingly varied friends and family, not least Smithy and Nessa. This complete collection includes all three series and the Christmas specials from 2008, 2019 and 2024, available on both DVD and sparkling high definition Blu-ray. |
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The Italian JobIn this furiously fast-paced 1960s action-comedy classic, Charlie Croker (Oscar winner Michael Caine) is out of jail and on the make with an ingenious plan for the heist of the century. Aided and abetted by top criminal mastermind Mr. Bridger (Noël Coward), Charlie sets off with an ace team and three very special cars to lift a major stash from under the noses of the Turin Polizei. Featuring one of the most iconic car chase sequences in film history, and a true cliff-hanger of a finale, The Italian Job is an essential classic caper. This release includes both 4K UHD and standard HD Blu-ray discs, following from a deluxe extras-packed box set released before Christmas. |
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Richard Ayoade - The Unfinished Harauld HughesA paperback edition of the fictional memoir following Ayoade's dogged quest to rescue Harauld Hughes - the great mid-century playwright, and Ayoade's uncanny doppelganger - from obscurity. Gifted filmmaker, corduroy activist and amateur dentist, Richard Ayoade first chanced upon a copy of The Two-Hander Trilogy by Harauld Hughes in a second-hand bookshop. At first startled by his uncanny resemblance to the author's photo, he opened the volume and was electrified. Terse, aggressive, and elliptical, what was true of Ayoade was also true of Hughes's writing, which encompassed stage, screen, and some of the shortest poems ever published. |
For more, see our full list of new releases and items coming soon.
Comedy videos
What if plastic bags were sentient?
What do your plastic bags get up to under the sink?
All Hail King Elon! - Broken News
After a quarter of a millennium as the world's most famous republic, it's all change over in the United States of America.
C-BOMB - Projectile Love
"I've been feeling peaky for a week now, and I've just taken a turn for the worse, I think I maybe need to see a nurse."
Time Travel Is Dangerous - Trailer
The trailer for this mockumentary film narrated by Stephen Fry. Best friends Ruth and Megan run a vintage shop in Muswell Hill. When they stumble across a time machine, it occurs to them that stock is much cheaper if they 'borrow' from the past.
Chariot - Trailer
Trailer for another mockumentary, this about a corrupt politician who is poised to win a historic by-election in post-Brexit Wales. But success may come at a high price.
Picture This - Trailer
Trailer for a new rom-com coming to Amazon on 6th March. Struggling photographer Pia receives a prediction: true love awaits in her next five dates.
Comedy Central Live - Judi Love
Judi talks about her love life and how she is aiming to change the type of man she dates.
Spotlight
Prospects
Despite lasting just a single series, Prospects was a popular and fondly-remembered mid-80s comedy from Channel 4. Gary Olsen (2point4 Children) and Brian Bovell (Gimme Gimme Gimme) starred as best friends living in East London, following the dream of making it big amidst the beginnings of the Docklands' redevelopment into the epicentre of world finance that is Canary Wharf today. No streaming service has picked up the show, but all 12 episodes have been released on DVD.
Thanks for reading
Here is David Kidder's BCG Pro Gag-a-Week entry on the topic of getting to sleep:
People with insomnia say it's a nightmare. How do they know?
British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk
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