A tight 5: July 7

THEY may have boasted that the first reunion show sold out in 42.5 seconds – but tickets for the Monty Python reunion are being sold at discount rates on Groupon. The bargain-basement website is currently offering top-price £95 tickets at half price for shows on July 15, 16, 18 and 19. It follows a previous 2-for-1 promotion on the site that even included the 'sold out' July 1 show.

MEANWHILE John Cleese is being lined up to play the villain in a new action-comedy based on Baywatch called The B Team. It stars Alexandra Paul and Jaason Simmon, veterans of the Nineties TV show, but will legally not be allowed to reference the original series.

MRS BROWN'S BOYS: D'Movie has remained top of the British cinema box office for a second week. Brendan O'Carroll's comedy took £2.2million at the box office this weekend – making a total of £9.3million on the 10 days it's been on release. That's more than 50 per cent more than the £6.2million Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa took in its entire time in cinemas.

BEN FARRELL, currently head of comedy at Objective Productions, is to join the BBC’s in-house comedy department as an executive producer. At Objective he has overseen shows including Toast Of London, Pete Versus Life and Reggie Perrin.

STAND-UP Jason Cook has collected his honorary fellowship from the University of Sunderland – the very institution he dropped out of in his first year of a media production course to follow his comedy career.

Published: 7 Jul 2014