2009 Archives
Tue 31 March 2009
British comedy's not dead
31/03/2009 … I’ve heard many urban legends in my time.
Grouchy Young Comics
Comedy Central UK's first commission
31/03/2009 … The new-look UK Comedy Central has confirmed transmission of its first original commission, Grouchy Young Men.
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31/03/2009 … MONTREAL’s Just For Laughs festival has announced the line-up for its new Chicago event featuring the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Fallon, Louis CK and Jim…
Horne again
'Second series' for Horne & Corden
31/03/2009 … Horne and Corden look set for a second series of their BBC Three sketch show – despite receiving a mauling by the critics.
And the votes are in...
Last Student Award finalist named
31/03/2009 … Will Scambler, who runs his own comedy club at Swansea University, has won the readers’ vote for the final place in the Chortle Student Comedy Award final.
Comics will be Winging It
31/03/2009 … A host of circuit comedians are taking part in a new BBC comedy programme for teenagers.
A new beginning for Red Dwarf?
Barrie hopes for permanent revival
31/03/2009 … Red Dwarf star Chris Barrie says the one-off Easter special could lead to a new series.
Dominic Holland – Original Review
31/03/2009 … While he’s been away from the circuit, writing novels and being a father, Dominic Holland has lost his crown as king of smug, middle-class observational comedy.
Mon 30 March 2009
Bruno 'too gay' for the censors
First cut gets kiss-of-death ratin
30/03/2009 … The first cut of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno movie has been give the dreaded NC-17 rating after proving ‘too gay’ for American censors.
Inbetweeners: Field trip
Preview clip from series 2, starting April 2
30/03/2009 … Neil gets close to a teacher on a field trip:Love fight:.
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30/03/2009 … ROB BRYDON is to present a two-part Radio 4 series about Tommy Cooper to mark the 25th anniversary of his death, starting at 11.
The Office opens Israeli branch
30/03/2009 … The Office is to be remade for an Israeli audience in what will be the seventh foreign version of the show.
© BBC Not Going Out any more
30/03/2009 … The BBC has axed Lee Mack sitcom Not Going Out after three series.
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30/03/2009 … JOHNNY VEGAS has lent his voice for a new campaign by The Sun newspaper to raise money for wounded veterans charity Help For Heroes.
Sketch comedy's not dead
...whatever Horne & Corden might do, writes Ian Hawkins
30/03/2009 … I have written in various formats for print and broadcast, and happily, have never been accused of being so bad at it as to have brought about the death of an entire…
Sun 29 March 2009
Revenge – by Twitter
Webb's savage response to critic
29/03/2009 … Robert Webb has used Twitter to launch a savage rebuttal to a Guardian critic who slammed him and his Peep Show co-star David Mitchell.
Vegas gets gout again
29/03/2009 … Johnny Vegas has reportedly suffered another bout of gout while filming the ITV sitcom Benidorm.
Fri 27 March 2009
Free Agents – free
27/03/2009 … Channel 4 sitcom Free Agents is released on DVD this week – and we have five copies to give away.
Pythons reunite
Six-part series directed by Alan Parker
27/03/2009 … The surviving members of Monty Python are reuniting for another major documentary series, telling their story.
Vic Reeves, exhibitionist
Art and artefacts combined as comic turns curator
27/03/2009 … Vic Reeves has gone from comedy to curating an exhibition at the Tunbridge Wells Museum.
Six minutes to live or die
New Zealand-based English comic Diane Spencer offers tips to the rookies
27/03/2009 … The fat rookie in a custom-built Stormtrooper’s outfit, complete with snug codpiece, strode onstage with about one minute of material and stood there for six,…
BBC ruined the US Thick Of It
27/03/2009 … Armando Iannucci says the BBC wrecked the US version of The Thick Of It by excluding him from the remake.
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27/03/2009 … OUTNUMBERED has been named the year's best comedy at the Broadcasting Press Guild awards, while creators Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin shared the writer's award.
Ricky sells his pants
27/03/2009 … ‘Actor and comedian Johnny Vegas has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is set to undergo treatment’.
Thu 26 March 2009
Watch Matt Lucas in Krod Mandoon
Preview of new Comedy Central/BBC Two show
26/03/2009 … Another preview clip, showing former EastEnders star Sean Maguire in the title role:And the trailer:.
Win tickets to the In The Loop premiere
26/03/2009 … Armando Iannucci’s film In The Loop hits cinemas on April 17 – and to celebrate we have joined forces with Optimum Releasing to give one lucky winner the chance…
© BBC Big plans for CBBC's animated comedy
26/03/2009 … The most ambitious animation project ever seen in Scotland is under way to create a new children’s comedy show.
BBC appoints new radio comedy head
Berthoud is first woman to hold the job
26/03/2009 … The BBC has appointed producer Jane Berthoud as its new head of radio comedy.
C4 unveils Comedy Lab line-up
Shows for Schaal, Whitehall and more
26/03/2009 … Channel 4 has announced the line-ups for its Comedy Lab pilots this summer, including shows from Kristen Schaal and Jack Whitehall.
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26/03/2009 … THE BBC is releasing a four-CD box set of Russell Brand's Radio 2 show, called The Best of What's Legal, despite him quitting over the Andrew Sachs phone calls.
BBC opens its comedy college again
26/03/2009 … The BBC has announced that it will run its College of Comedy for up-and-coming writers for a second year.
Wed 25 March 2009
The top tip for Edinburgh? Don't go...
But if you do, here are Dave Cohen's survival tips
25/03/2009 … It’s that time of year again.
Springer Opera irritates again
25/03/2009 … The first amateur production Jerry Springer: The Opera is to be staged next month – to the fury of radical Christian fundamentalists.
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25/03/2009 … THE UK's Comedy Central – as Paramount Comedy will be known from next month – has snapped up the rights to air the second series of The Sarah Silverman Program.
© ITV Not so lovely jubbly
David Jason rapped over Pakistani joke
25/03/2009 … Sir David Jason has been criticised after making a joke deemed racist on live radio.
Not Tonightly...
25/03/2009 … Channel 4 has announced that its daily comedy show Tonightly will not be getting a second series – but said the team behind it are working on another programme…
Kerry Godliman – Original Review
25/03/2009 … Kerry Godliman is very ordinary.
Tue 24 March 2009
spectator24
24/03/2009 … THE SPECTATOR magazine has signed John Cleese to be its new contributing editor, with his first piece due to appear this week.
Robin Williams OK after heart op
Tour set to resume this autumn
24/03/2009 … Rob Brydon, David Mitchell, Harry Hill and The IT Crowd are among the stars and shows nominated for Baftas today.
© C4 Mitchell nominated for a Bafta
24/03/2009 … Rob Brydon, David Mitchell, Harry Hill and The IT Crowd are among the stars and shows nominated for Baftas today.
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24/03/2009 … AN ONLINE adventure game has been created to promote the return of Red Dwarf.
© BBC James Corden's 'banned' Tango ad
24/03/2009 … Before he was famous, James Corden starred in this advert for Tango – which was taken off air after people complained that is encouraged the bullying of fat children.
lcfwin24
24/03/2009 … AL PITCHER's Picture Show – a stand-up hour based around photographs taken that day – has been named best show at the Leicester Comedy Festival awards.
Mon 23 March 2009
Komedia: We've secured our future
...as Djalili announces benefit shows
23/03/2009 … Directors of Brighton’s Komedia venue say the venue’s future has been secured after a meeting with creditors.
© BBC Polly speaks!
Booth to break her silence over Fawlty Towers
23/03/2009 … Connie Booth is to break her silence to talk about Fawlty Towers for the first time in more than 20 years.
Roseanne plans sitcom return
New family comedy in the pipeline
23/03/2009 … Roseanne Barr is said to be planning a return to prime-time sitcom.
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23/03/2009 … RICKY GERVAIS is to perform two dates at London's intimate Bloomsbury Theatre on April 20 and 21.
Argumental preview clips
23/03/2009 … Dara O Briain and a bodybuilder:Marcus Brigstocke on Britain bouncing back:And a trailer.
'Breakaway' Edinburgh festival expands
...but only for shows that pay
23/03/2009 … The controversial ‘breakaway’ comedy festival formed by Edinburgh’s four biggest Fringe venues says it wants other shows to join in – but only if they fork…
Sun 22 March 2009
Famous by accident...
Paul Whitehouse on celebrity, mortality, and the joys of shouting \'arse\'
22/03/2009 … Despite hiding behind a myriad of characters, The Fast Show made Paul Whitehouse one of the most recognisable faces in comedy.
The headlines again...
22/03/2009 … Four nights a week on America’s Comedy Central channel, Jon Stewart satirically savages the White House and their policies on The Daily Show.
You don't have to be mad to work here...
John Antrobus remembers the strange days of Associated London Scripts
22/03/2009 … It was an inauspicious, and unlikely, birthplace for some of the finest comedies this country has ever produced.
The old uns are the best
Steve Bennett chats to Barry Cryer
22/03/2009 … At 67, and after a career that's involved just about every comedy legend you can think of, some comics might start thinking about taking things a little easy and…
Mocking the afflicted
22/03/2009 … Almost every successful British comedy of the past 40 years has used disabled characters as figures of fun, a Radio 4 show has claimed.
Winging It
Interviews with the Green Wing cast and creator
22/03/2009 … Channel 4's acclaimed sitcom Green Wing returns for a second series on March 31.
The future of satire
22/03/2009 … A week of events about satire at South London's Greenwich Theatre kicked off with a debate entitled The Future of Satire - Safe and Smug or Edgy and Offensive? Here's…
Aussie rules!
Mark Little on Australia's comedy heritage
22/03/2009 … During the Eighties, Mark Little was best known for his role as lovable rogue Joe Mangel in Neighbours, though his real love was stand-up comedy.
Go Jerry
22/03/2009 … Phoenix Nights deservedly made a star out of Peter Kay, but also raised the profiles of other stand-ups in the cast - perhaps none more so than Dave Spikey, co-writer…
Why good jokes are hard to remember
22/03/2009 … Good jokes are harder to remember than bad ones, scientists have discovered.
Festival: The Movie
22/03/2009 … You probably wouldn’t have noticed her among the hundreds of desperate performers thronging Edinburgh’s Royal Mile during last year’s festival.
I'm not that interested in comedy..
22/03/2009 … Small Time Crooks is more reminiscent of your earlier films, more slapstick and less serious.
Apocalypse now
The League of Gentlemen talk about their big-screen debut
22/03/2009 … The League Of Gentlemen’s first movie Apocalypse opens next month; and yesterday some of the team held a Q&A session for invited journalists in central London.
Meet the makers
22/03/2009 … It might seem like sacrilege to its legions of fans, but the new Hitchhikers’ Guide To The Galaxy movie has taken liberties with the characters, lines and script…
'It's hard not to become the Chucke Brothers...'
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon in A Cock And Bull Story
22/03/2009 … Late autumn light filters through the great oaks surrounding Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk, a little-known National Trust gem that is one of the most authentic 17th Century…
Filth sells!
Interview with Aristocrats director Paul Provenza
22/03/2009 … It’s changed Hollywood attitudes and altered the landscape of stand-up comedy.
Pure filth
22/03/2009 … Can you explain the joke that’s the subject of The Aristocrats for those who haven’t heard it? PENN: You get to hear it a lot in the movie, so why ruin it here.
Acting funny
22/03/2009 … Dylan Moran is making his movie acting debut opposite Michael Caine in the new comedy The Actors in a story, by Conor McPherson and Neil Jordan, of two dead-end…
That's dead funny
Radio 4\'s new pathology comedy
22/03/2009 … Comedy writer Laurence Howarth (pictured) reveals how he found the inspiration for his new Radio 4 sitcom Rigor Mortis while watching an old episode of Quincy and…
Doubled up...
Parsons and Naylor\'s comedy careers
22/03/2009 … Andy Parsons and Henry Naylor are returning to Radio 2 on July 24 with a new series of Pull-Out Sections, some of which will be recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Noble thoughts
22/03/2009 … As Ross Noble embarks on new series of Radio 4 travelogues from around the world, he reveals a few favourite anecdotes: What was the best place you visited for this…
World of the News
25 years of Radio 4's topical comedy quiz
22/03/2009 … The News Quiz celebrates its 25th anniversary on Radio 4 on September 7.
Making an exhibition of themsleves
...in The Museum Of Everything
22/03/2009 … In the new Radio 4 series The Museum Of Everything, Marcus Brigstocke, Dan Tetsell and Danny Robins examine every dusty, waxwork-populated museum they were ever…
Robin's best...
Ince introduces 28 comics to radio
22/03/2009 … Digital radio station BBC 7 launches its first original comedy commission next month Spanking New On Seven.
A Dent in the univers
22/03/2009 … Radio 4 concludes its adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy with an eight-part series, starting on May 3, taken from Douglas Adams’s third and fouth…
On another planet...
Simon Jones on the return of Hitchhikers\' Guide
22/03/2009 … When Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy star Simon Jones left California following the funeral of his friend Douglas Adams in May 2001, it was with a heavy heart.
Adam and the rants...
Adam Bloom talks - and talks - about his new radio show
22/03/2009 … As the next series of The Problem With Adam Bloom prepares to hit Radio 4, with a longer running time and the prime 6.
Write good advice...
Expert advice on getting that sitcom off the ground
22/03/2009 … "I'm looking for people to bring us their worlds, rather than the worlds they think we want to see.
Queen Victoria
22/03/2009 … Victoria Wood is back on TV, having written new episodes of her Acorn Antiques spoof for a new programme about the history of the comedy sketch.
Hiding behind laughs
22/03/2009 … Great tomes have been written on the psychology of comedians.
Brigstocke: 'To be honest, I'm a bit of a tart'
22/03/2009 … As fictional historian David Oxley BA (Hons) returns to our screens for a new series of We Are History, Marcus Brigstocke, shares his thoughts on the character he…
The Christians told me where to shove it...
22/03/2009 … You might imagine that returning to a job you haven’t done for five years to be a bit disconcerting.
Heeere's Johnny!
Vegas on his new show: 18 Stone Of Idiot
22/03/2009 … Grilling Johnny Vegas is not a job to be taken lightly.
A couple of Tossers
nterview with Modern Toss creators Mick Bunnage and Jon Link
22/03/2009 … Channel 4 launches its deliberately offensive mix of animation and live-action sketches, Modern Toss, on July 11.
Strictly off message
Armando Iannucci on his new Whitehall comedy
22/03/2009 … Hot on the heels of Labour’s third election victory, satirist Armando Iannucci has created a new political comedy to help lighten the mood of the often serious-minded…
The saviour of ITV sitcoms?
22/03/2009 … Frank Skinner is struggling to remember the last ITV sitcom he really enjoyed.
The Family Guy guy
Seth McFarlane discusses his creation
22/03/2009 … nimated comedy Family Guy was brought back from its cancellation after network executives saw the impressive DVD sales of previous series that had performed disappointingly…
The key to serious acting? Snot and dribble
How Sally Phillips learned to forget her comedy instincts
22/03/2009 … As one third of the Smack The Pony team, Sally Phillips is known for her broad comedy, cruel parodies and over-the-top physical gags.
Silly Runt
22/03/2009 … Animated comedy Rex The Runt was inspired by the most unlikely of sources - grot.
Iraq-naphobia
Rory's fears over the Middle East
22/03/2009 … Saddam's regime may have been toppled along with his statue, Iraq's problems are far from over, as Rory Bremner - along with his partners-in-satire Johns Bird and…
Gloria in excelsi
Melvyn Hayes enjoyed his latest role
22/03/2009 … Johhny Vaughan is hoping to make the leap from likeable blokeish presenter to serious comedy writer with his new shpw 'orrible - in whicaMelvyn Hayes, who carved…
Here's Johnny come lately
How Vaughan's hoping to make the move into comedy
22/03/2009 … Johhny Vaughan is hoping to make the leap from likeable blokeish presenter to serious comedy writer with his new shpw 'orrible - in which he also plays the anti-hero,…
Not a black and white issue...
Matthew Coniam on Love Thy Neighbour
22/03/2009 … There may be an old joke that runs; there are only three great ITV sitcoms: Rising Damp series one, Rising Damp series two and Rising Damp series three.
Comedy hero
Ardal O'Hanlon on Thermoman, stand-up, and disappointing his parents...
22/03/2009 … Ardal O'Hanlon has always been the unlikeliest of superheroes.
They don't believe it!
Fans still won't accept Victor's death
22/03/2009 … Even a year after his alter ego Victor Meldrew was killed in a hit-and-run accident, actor Richard Wilson cannot escape people coming up to him and wanting to talk…
Gareth and me...
22/03/2009 … His star may be rising, but Mackenzie Crook is worried.
Grammer schoolboy humour
22/03/2009 … You've seen the trailers promising 'comedy in unexpected places' well, this must take the biscuit: Kelsey Grammer, the $1.
Jee whizz
How Jocelyn Jee Esien ended up with her own TV show, when she never even wanted to be a comedian
22/03/2009 … Not many stand-ups get to tackle both Dickens and Shakespeare in a year.
You've got to feel the fear
Johnny Vegas on Dickens, stand-up... and the cello
22/03/2009 … Not many stand-ups get to tackle both Dickens and Shakespeare in a year.
Hancock at ATV
Peter Gordon reappraises a forgotten series
22/03/2009 … Unloved and virtually unseen since its original broadcast in 1963, the ATV Hancock series, made following his move from the BBC, is in fact very revealing.
Billy the kidder
22/03/2009 … Billy Bleach, the pub bore Simon Day created for The Fast Show, is to star in a new sitcom for BBC3.
Office politics
Ricky Gervais on why his show was a hit...
22/03/2009 … Ricky Gervais seems to have cornered the market in arrogant, swaggering buffoons.
Know your Friends
Little-known facts from the hit sitcom
22/03/2009 … Jennifer Aniston is from a Greek family.
That Friday feeling
Interview: Alan Carr and Justin Lee Collins
22/03/2009 … Channel 4’s Friday Night Project is back on January 6, but with new presenter.
Fools' paradise
22/03/2009 … Del Boy and Rodney last graced our screens, their wildest dreams came true, and they did become millionaires.
Paul and Angela hit the jackpot
22/03/2009 … The worlds of medicine and comedy have long been linked.
In stitches
How Phil Hammond mixes medicine and comedy
22/03/2009 … The worlds of medicine and comedy have long been linked.
‘I'm going,’ Ron told me. Days later he was dead
22/03/2009 … Ronnie Corbett may be turning 75 on Sunday, but a mischievous, schoolboy twinkle still shines through his trademark glasses.
Fags of life
Why Smoking worked wonders for writer Brian Dooley
22/03/2009 … As a comedy writer, Brian Dooley's career wasn't exactly soaring.
Sibling ribaldry...
Vic and Bob are back... as brothers
22/03/2009 … Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are about to return to TV with a new comedy, Catterick, playing two brothers, Carl and Chris Palmer.
Book Group's new chapter
Script gets sexier second time around...
22/03/2009 … The Book Group is returning to Channel 4 on January 24 and this series is going to be sexier than the last - at least according to the cast.
Turning over a new leaf
Tamsin Greig on Black Books' return
22/03/2009 … For Black Books star Tamsin Greig, there's only one thing better than working with Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey and that's when Simon Pegg joined the cast.
All their yesterdays...
22/03/2009 … It looked like becoming one of the most expensive mistakes in the BBC's history.
The forgotten man of comedy?
22/03/2009 … Stanley Baxter is the neglected icon of British comedy, say the makers of a new tribute programme.
The true Ronnie
22/03/2009 … He was a star on top of his game - a staple of prime-time TV, and critically acclaimed for his unforgettable role in a groundbreaking sitcom.
Stroke of genius?
22/03/2009 … “Growing up is a total pain in the arse, but we all have to do it at some point.
Anything goes? That's lazy
Armando Iannucci on his new satire
22/03/2009 … You wouldn't describe Armando Iannucci as a one-trick pony.
The G spot
Ali's director talks about their experiences in the US
22/03/2009 … After reaching saturation point in Britain to the point that no celebrity could ever be genuinely duped Ali G creator Sacha Baron Cohen wisely moved to America…
Fab to be back, darling
Lumley and Saunders discuss their sitcom's return
22/03/2009 … Five years after downing their last Bolly, Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone are back for another run of Absolutely Fabulous - but the new series proved a little more…
Fri 20 March 2009
thomas20
20/03/2009 … MARK THOMAS has announced a 55-date spring/summer tour about the credit crunch called It's The Stupid Economy, kicking off in Cambridge on April 20.
Sponsor pulls out of comedy awards
...but they will survive, insist organisers
20/03/2009 … Organisers of the biggest comedy prize at the Edinburgh Fringe have vowed that this year’s accolades will still be awarded – despite losing their sponsor.
'I am a Scout, we are the cyber virus'
20/03/2009 … James Corden: 'Mat and I would love to continue working together for a long time - but I don't think we've got any aspirations to be Cannon and Ball.
Jacko 'furious' over Now Show joke
Singer set to lodge complaint, newspaper claims
20/03/2009 … Michael Jackson is said to be furious after Radio 4's Now Show made a joke comparing him to the IRA.
Eddy Brimson – Original Review
20/03/2009 … Full of geezerish appeal, Eddy Brimson works the crowd like a charm.
Thu 19 March 2009
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19/03/2009 … CHARLES FLEISCHER, the American stand-up who provided the voice of Roger Rabbit, has cancelled his planned run at the Menier Chocolate Factory due to start next…
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19/03/2009 … CHARLIE SHEEN sitcom Two and a Half Men has been renewed until 2012, while The Big Bang Theory, show on C4 in the UK, has been extended to 2011.
David Cross pens C4 pilot
New Comedy Showcase series ahead
19/03/2009 … American comic David Cross has written a sitcom pilot for Channel 4.
'Good performers aren't always good comics'
Rhian Edwards interviews Isy Suttie
19/03/2009 … Few trained actors have ever made the successful transition into stand-up comedy.
Call 999! It's a holy hand grenade
19/03/2009 … The bomb squad evacuated buildings after being called out to defuse… Monty Python’s Holy Hand Grenade Of Antioch.
© BBC Tate's Hollywood break
Catherine lands role in Gulliver's Travels
19/03/2009 … Catherine Tate has landed her first Hollywood role, appearing in the new version of Gulliver’s Travels.
Wed 18 March 2009
Hill and Kay triumph at RTS awards
So do Peep Show and Outnumbered
18/03/2009 … Peter Kay, Harry Hill and Peep Show were among the winners at the Royal Television Society Awards last night.
Gervais 'not appearing in US Office'
18/03/2009 … Producers of the American version of The Office have denied reports Ricky Gervais is to make a guest appearance in a forthcoming episode.
Peep Show gets 7th series
18/03/2009 … A seventh series of Peep Show has been ordered – before the sixth has even aired.
Tue 17 March 2009
'Young, vulnerable and cheeky...
On the anniversary of his death, Richard Beckinsale's first wife remembers their meeting
17/03/2009 … Thirty years ago today, March 18, Richard Beckinsale – star of two of the most successful British sitcoms of the Seventies, Rising Damp and Porridge – died of…
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17/03/2009 … STEPHEN K AMOS has announced a 64-date tour for next autumn/winter, culminating in a performance at the Hammersmith Apollo next February.
© BBC It's the end for Gavin & Stacey
Corden confirms series 3 will be the last
17/03/2009 … Gavin and Stacey will definitely end after its third series, co-writer James Corden has confirmed.
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17/03/2009 … STEWART LEE’s Comedy Vehicle attracted a modest 1 million viewers to BBC Two last night; a third down on the channel’s normal 1.
© Fox Family Guy copyright claim rejected
Song parodies given the legal OK
17/03/2009 … A judge has thrown out a lawsuit that claimed Family Guy infringed the copyright of the song When You Wish Upon A Star when they parodied it on the show.
Baron Cohen tricks US National Guard
New scenes from Borat revealed
17/03/2009 … Sacha Baron Cohen has been up to his old tricks – conning the Alabama National Guard into letting him train.
Mon 16 March 2009
Student Awards: Now it's over to you
16/03/2009 … The heats of the Chortle Student Comedy Award have come to an end – with Joe Lycett triumphing at the gig in Sheffield University last night.
PhpQtest
16/03/2009 … Freebie newspaper London Lite carried the first of many ‘I became a stand-up after losing my City job’ stories yesterday.
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16/03/2009 … MANCHESTER drama student Joe Lycett won the Sheffield heat of the Chortle Student Comedy Award on Sunday night.
Ban this filth!
How police called for Derek & Clive prosecutions
16/03/2009 … Police forces across Britain demanded that Peter Cook and Dudley Moore be prosecuted for obscenity over their foul-mounted Derek and Clive albums, newly released…
barry16
16/03/2009 … GAVIN & STACEY stars Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon went straight to No 1 with (Barry) Islands In The Stream on Sunday, selling more than five million copies in its first…
Joleed Farah – Original Review
16/03/2009 … Somalian Muslim Joleed Farah is relatively inexperienced, but although inconsistent, there are some promising ideas in his low-key set.
Sat 14 March 2009
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14/03/2009 … ROBERT WEBB has won the BBC's Let's Dance For Comic Relief competition with a performance of What A Feeling from Eighties film Flashdance.
Fri 13 March 2009
BBC pulls Horne & Corden sketch
Scene axed after German school shoting
13/03/2009 … The BBC has pulled a school shooting sketch from repeats of Horne & Corden in the wake of the attack in which 15 German schoolchildren died.
Kay writes new memoirs
Another bestseller almost guaranteed
13/03/2009 … Peter Kay is to release a follow-up to his bestselling memoirs The Sound Of Laughter this autumn.
Alan Carr lands Radio 2 show
'I'm the fairy cornflake', he jokes
13/03/2009 … Alan Carr is to join Radio 2, it was confirmed today.
Walliams vs Williams: The cockfight
13/03/2009 … Alan Carr on Celebrity Apprentice: ‘They just stuck the gays together so me and Gok spent a lot of the time together - him mincing around with a handbag and then…
Kay invades the stage again
Impromptu appearance on Manford's tour
13/03/2009 … Peter Kay has gatecrashed another gig, making an impromptu cameo at the end of Jason Manford’s show in Manchester.
iain13
13/03/2009 … IAIN STIRLING won the penulitmate heat of the Chortle Student Comedy Award, held at QMU, Glasgow, on Thursday night.
Thu 12 March 2009
Gag record attempt fails
Sutherland 72 jokes short of the target
12/03/2009 … Kev F Sutherland has failed in his attempt to crack the most jokes in an hour.
West End tribute to Williams
New comedy about Carry On star
12/03/2009 … A new tribute show to Kenneth Williams is to open in London's West End next month.
Oddie treated for depression
Goodie Bill checks into hospital
12/03/2009 … Bill Oddie has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital for treatment for depression.
Funny – in theory
Science-based panel show for BBC Four
12/03/2009 … Andy Hamilton is to host a new science-based panel show for BBC Four.
Comic Relief clips
Behind the scenes with Little Britain, Catherine Tate, James Corden, French & Saunders and more...
12/03/2009 … James Corden as Smithy motivates England footballers:Little Britain with Catherine Tate and Robbie Williams: French and Saunders with their last sketch: Katy Brand…
sandra12
12/03/2009 … SANDRA BERNHARD is to perform a two-week run at London's Leicester Square Theatre from May 26; followed by one night (June 6) at Gateshead's The Sage.
Michael Smiley – Original Review
12/03/2009 … As an icebreaker, Michael Smiley trots out the now-standard line for Northern Irish comedians, reminiscing about the days of the Republican terrorists who at least…
Dave Williams – Original Review
12/03/2009 … In total contrast to his namesake – who had to subtly change his surname before finding fame with Little Britain - this stand-up has risen through the ranks…
Wed 11 March 2009
Britain's got talent
UK comedies dominate international awards
11/03/2009 … Britain is set to dominate this year’s Rose d'Or TV festival – after scooping seven of the nine nominees for the best comedy show.
Would Rob Brydon lie to you?
Comic takes over as panel show host
11/03/2009 … Rob Brydon is to host the next series of BBC One panel show Would I Lie To You?The Gavin & Stacey star takes over from Angus Deayton, who presented the first two…
Belly on the South Bank
Edinburgh venue comes to London
11/03/2009 … The Udderbelly, the marquee venue shaped like a giant purple upside-down cow, is to be erected on London’s South Bank this summer – and hosting a raft of comedy…
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11/03/2009 … LAURIE BLAKE won the Brighton heat of the Chortle Student Comedy award on Tuesday night.
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11/03/2009 … BUFFY The Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar is to star in a new US sitcom, The Wonderful Maladys, about New York siblings coping with the loss of their…
Strong audience for Horne & Corden
11/03/2009 … Mathew Horne and James Corden’s new sketch show became the most-watched comedy debut in BBC Three's history last night – but was mauled by the critics.
Lucas pens Jewish sitcom
Little Britain star mines his past
11/03/2009 … Matt Lucas is working on a Jewish sitcom.
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11/03/2009 … ALAN CARR has been named top TV personality at the Television Radio and Industries Club awards, where Gavin and Stacey won best satellite and digital programme…
Tue 10 March 2009
Cat gets the cream
Kilkenny festival line-up revealed
10/03/2009 … Kilkenny’s Cat Laughs comedy festival has unveiled its 2009 line-up, featuring such acts as Dave Gorman, Lewis Black, Ross Noble, Adam Hills and Tommy Tiernan.
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10/03/2009 … SANJEEV BHASKAR has been appointed chancellor of the University of Sussex near Brighton, taking over from Richard Attenborough.
Robbie Williams joins Little Britain
10/03/2009 … Robbie Williams and Catherine Tate are to appear in Little Britain sketches for Comic Relief.
Women aren't funny? Don't make me laugh...
Adam Gilder joins the ongoing debate
10/03/2009 … Cor, aren’t girls and boys different? That was the underlying assumption in a piece Germaine Greer wrote for the Guardian last week.
Win front-row tickets to Horne and Corden
Teenage Cancer Trust benefit at Royal Albert Hall
10/03/2009 … James Corden and Mathew Horne are hosting this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust benefit at London’s Royal Albert Hall – and we have two pairs of front-row tickets…
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10/03/2009 … GABRIEL EBULUE won the Cambridge heat of the Chortle student comedy awards on Monday night.
Radio first for Skinner
10/03/2009 … Frank Skinner is to present his first radio show, after signing a deal with Absolute Radio.
Paul Chowdhry – Original Review
10/03/2009 … Paul Chowdhry has a dry, deadpan delivery that tends make the audience feel slightly uncomfortable, unsure of what’s going on beneath his inscrutable façade.
Mon 09 March 2009
Komedia stuggles with debt
Financial woes hit Brighton venue
09/03/2009 … Brighton comedy venue Komedia is battling to clear debts of more than £300,000.
© BBC Pulling in a new audience
US remake for Sharon Horgan's sitcom
09/03/2009 … Sharon Horgan’s comedy Pulling may have been axed by BBC Three – but it might have found a new home across the Atlantic.
Australian TV snaps up Russell Brand
Should we have a 'big down under' pun here?
09/03/2009 … Australian TV viewers are about to be introduced to Russell Brand, after the Seven network snapped up the rights to his Channel 4 series Ponderland.
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09/03/2009 … CABARET show La Clique was named best entertainment a the Olivier Awards for West End Theatre on Sunday night.
© BBC Corden: Other comics resent us
09/03/2009 … James Corden says he receives the cold shoulder from other comedians who resent his overnight success.
Sun 08 March 2009
© Apple Sat 07 March 2009
© HBO Gervais says no more Extras
... despite pleas of Hollywood A-listers
07/03/2009 … Ricky Gervais has said he will never bring back Extras, despite a catalogue of Hollywood stars clambering for roles.
Fri 06 March 2009
Playwrights' BBC sitcom commission
Village comedy scripts ordered
06/03/2009 … Playwrights Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood have been commissioned to write a BBC One sitcom set in a sleepy County Durham hamlet.
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06/03/2009 … FRANK SKINNER's Credit Crunch Cabaret – which offers a line-up of top acts for £10 – has extended its run at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End for five…
© Universal Studios 'My willy done a burp...'
06/03/2009 … ‘A funny woman doesn’t attract men… she intimidates them,’ Lynne Parker of Funny Women, which aims to promote female stand-ups.
Bill Bailey banned for speeding
06/03/2009 … Bill Bailey has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding in Cornwall.
© HBO Curb reunites Seinfeld stars
Team back together after 11 years
06/03/2009 … Curb Your Enthusiasm is to return for a seventh series – reuniting the cast of Seinfeld.
Heart op for Williams
06/03/2009 … Robin Williams has postponed the rest of his American tour after it was announced that he was to have heart surgery.
Jamie Sutherland – Original Review
06/03/2009 … The alternative answer to the old gag ‘what do you call a Scouser in a suit?’, 35-year-old Jamie Sutherland is an unapologetically mainstream comedian, so it…
Thu 05 March 2009
'Voice of an angel' comic dies
05/03/2009 … Joan Turner, the versatile comedian who was dubbed the ‘female Harry Secombe’ in the Sixties, has died at the age of 86.
Cedric to entertain London
First UK gig for American stand-up
05/03/2009 … Cedric The Entertainer is to make his first stand-up appearance in the UK.
Gagging for the record
Stand-up bids for most jokes in an hour
05/03/2009 … Comedian Kev F Sutherland is to attempt to break the world record for the most jokes told in one hour.
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05/03/2009 … RUSSELL HOWARD and Michael McIntyre have announced extensions to their tours.
The Boize done good
Internet comedy transfers to TV
05/03/2009 … Internet comedy series Toyboize – about a washed-up former teen pop group attempting a comeback – is to transfer to TV.
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05/03/2009 … UNSEEN footage of Fawlty Towers will be aired in a UKTV tribute, hosted by John Cleese to mark 30 years since the classic sitcom ended.
© BBC Royles back for Red Nose Day
Comic Relief highlights revealed
05/03/2009 … The Royle Family, French and Saunders and Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse will be among the comedy highlights of Red Nose Day on BBC One.
Wed 04 March 2009
© Ellis O'Brien A fast Carr... allegedly
Mr Loophole gets Jimmy off the hook
04/03/2009 … Jimmy Carr has got off a speeding charge thanks to the celebrity solicitor nicknamed Mr Loophole.
© BBC Barry Islands In The Stream
04/03/2009 … Gavin and Stacey stars Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon team up with Sir Tom Jones and Robin Gibb for this charity single release, out on March 9:.
© Comedy Central Silverman saved
04/03/2009 … Sarah Silverman’s four-day stand-off with America’s Comedy Central has ended, securing her show for a third series.
© BBC Birds Of A Feather to flock back?
04/03/2009 … Birds of a Feather could be heading for a comeback after more than a decade.
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04/03/2009 … SPINAL TAP have announced a 30-date US tour, starting next month, following their announcement that they are to record their first new material in 20 years.
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04/03/2009 … LEEDS University philosophy and politics student Max Dickins won the Kingston heat of the Chortle Student Comedy Awards on Tuesday night.
Baron Cohen downsizes
Comic to play 'pint-sized foreigner'
04/03/2009 … Sacha Baron Cohen is being lined up to play a miniature person in a new Hollywood movie.
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04/03/2009 … COMIC and Police Academy star Bobcat Goldthwait is to receive the first Commie Award for ‘outstanding comedical achievements in the field of comedy excellence’…
Tue 03 March 2009
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03/03/2009 … RICKY GERVAIS will have to change the title of his forthcoming movie from The Men From The Pru because 'the Prudential didn't like how we portrayed them'.
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03/03/2009 … LAURA LEXX, a 22-year-old University of Kent drama student, won the second London heat of the Chortle Student Comedy Award on Monday.
Chris Roche – Original Review
03/03/2009 … Perhaps it’s because he knows there’s a critic in the room, but Chris Roche is on the defensive from the start.
Mon 02 March 2009
Silverman threatens walkout
02/03/2009 … Sarah Silverman has threatened to quit her TV show after network bosses slashed its budget by more than 20 per cent.
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02/03/2009 … JAMES CORDEN and Mathew Horne are host the annual Comic Relief clip show for BBC One.
ITV's new comedies fail to shine
Low audiences for Murray and Wallpaper
02/03/2009 … ITV’s new Friday-night comedy line-up has failed to attract the viewers.
Brian ban lifted
Aberystwyth gets its Pyhton premiere – 30 years late
02/03/2009 … Aberystwyth has lifted its ban on Monty Python’s Life Of Brian – 30 years after its release.
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02/03/2009 … DOMINIC CROSS, who is studying comedy writing and performance at Southampton Solent University, won the heat of Chortle's Student Comedy Award in the town on Sunday…
Face it, comics, your gags WILL get nicked
But, says Dave Cohen, cheats never prosper...
02/03/2009 … Well done Lee Hurst! The consensus in the comedy world seems to be that Lee struck a blow for all of us, in more ways than one, when he smashed up a punter’s mobile,…
Brand on the radio again
...and he wants Ross as his first guest
02/03/2009 … Russell Brand is to present his first radio show since the Andrew Sachs debacle – and has joked that he wants Jonathan Ross to join him.
Dave Gibson – Original Review
02/03/2009 … Dave Gibson feels a little bit more like a holiday-camp host than a post-alternative comic.
Sun 01 March 2009
We've seen that joke before...
Film used same gag as BBC show
01/03/2009 … An Australian film-maker has landed in hot water after using the same joke as a BBC sketch show.
Win tickets to Pappy's Fun Club
01/03/2009 … Pappy’s Fun Club, the cheeky Chortle Award-winning sketch quartet, are just about to embark on a tour of their show, Funergy – and we have ten pairs of tickets…
Get a copy of your Chortle Student Comedy Award performance
01/03/2009 … Unfortunately, DVDs from the Coventry and Manchester heats are no longer available.
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01/03/2009 … TOMMY TIERNAN is to undertake a 4,000-mile road trip in his camper van from County Galway to Western Russia to raise money for Russian orphans.
© Fox
Brand in clear over BNP gag
01/03/2009 … Jo Brand will not be prosecuted over her gag about the British National Party, the Crown Prosecution Service has decided.
Police reje
01/03/2009 … Jo Brand will not be prosecuted over her gag about the British National Party, the Crown Prosecution Service has decided.
Andy Learmonth – Original Review
01/03/2009 … Young Aberdonian Andy Learmonth has a strong, confident presence undermined by patchy material.
Simon Fox – Original Review
01/03/2009 … Simon Fox is one of those slightly old-school comics who works across the interface of the established circuit and more mainstream venues – as happy on stage at…
Lesbian Vampire Killers
01/03/2009 … Though it’s too early to speak of Lesbian Vampire Killers as the final nail in the coffin of Mathew Horne and James Corden’s comic partnership, with the poison…