A tight 5: March 20

RUMOURS that Eddie Murphy returned to stand-up last night seem to be wide of the mark. Reports from the States – which were earlier picked up by Chortle – suggested he had made a ten-minute appearance at the LA Comedy Store. But other acts and audience members at the venue have said he was NOT there. The story was sparked by a tweet from former chat show host Arsenio Hall who said: ‘Yo @Eddiemurphy … just went on at the @TheComedyStore! #cathartic - Come on and Take 5 one nite!’ Followed by the club tweeting: ‘You never know who will pop in at The Store…’ However, it now seems that the initial tweet was an invitation rather than a statement. Murphy has previously spoken about wanting to return to stand-up.

CATHERINE TATE, Mark Gatiss and Dame Judi Dench are to star in a 90-minute drama to go out live on election day. The Vote is set in a fictional London polling station during the final 90 minutes before ballots close. More4 will be airing the show live from the Donmar Warehouse in London at the precise time the action is set: from 8.30pm to 10pm on May 7.

ADRIAN GRAY, a third-year politics, psychology and sociology student at Cambridge, won last night's heat of the Chortle Student Comedy Award in Stoke Newington, North London. The final heat is in Brunel University in Uxbridge, West London, next Tuesday, compered by Sean McLoughlin.

FRENCH comedian Dieudonné M'bala M'bala has been fined €22,500 for inciting racial hatred. His second conviction in two days comes for suggesting that Jewish radio presenter Patrick Cohen. would end up in the gas chamber during his stage show. On Wednesday he was given a two month suspended jail sentence for a Facebook post empathetic to the murderous terrorists who attacked Paris in January.

DANIEL RADCLIFFE is to host the first episode of the new 49th series of Have I Got News For You when it returns to BBC One on April 10. Victoria Coren Mitchell will host the second.

Published: 20 Mar 2015