Little Brexit
31/10/2019 … News that David Walliams and Matt Lucas had reunited after more than a decade sparked mixed reactions – from fans happy that the once all-conquering partnership…
2019 Archives
Thu 31 October 2019
Little Brexit in pictures
Images of Matt Lucas, David Walliams and the rest of the cast from their comeback show
31/10/2019 … Matt Lucas and David Walliams embraced when they reunited after more than a decade to bring Little Britain back.
America to remake A League Of Their Own
But James Corden reportedly unlikely to host
31/10/2019 … America is set to get its own version of James Corden’s panel show A League Of Their Own.
So... what is a joke?
Dave Cohen tries to answer a simple question
31/10/2019 … What is a joke? Considering this is key to comedy, there are remarkably few attempts to answer this question.
Jack Whitehall tour grows again
31/10/2019 … Jack Whitehall has announced three more dates for his live tour Stood Up.
© Steve Best They've been framed!
Here's a preview of an exhibition of intimate comedy photographs
31/10/2019 … A new exhibition of intimate pictures of comedians on and off stage has opened in Central London today.
The French Brexit Song
What is the UK really turning its back on...
31/10/2019 … Brexit might cost the British economy £70billion a year according to the latest economic forecasts.
If Friday Night Dinner was a psychological thriller
31/10/2019 … Friday Night Dinner has been reimagined as a psychological thriller for Halloween.
© Helen Maybanks God's Dice
Review of Alan Davies in David Baddiel's first play
31/10/2019 … David Baddiel isn’t the first creative person to have learned about quantum physics in all its weirdness and come to the conclusion that it requires an almost-religious…
© Johan Persson Paul Whitehouse returns to Only Fools and Horses
Comic goes back to the West End production he co-wrote
31/10/2019 … Paul Whitehouse is to return to the West End musical version of Only Fools and Horses.
Bucket list
Meet the finalists in this year's Beat The Frog World Series
31/10/2019 … The finalists have been announced for this year’s Beat The Frog World Series – the new act competition run by Manchester’s Frog and Bucket…
Tom Allen and Jennifer Saunders recreate The Lion King
From There’s Something About Movies
31/10/2019 … Tom Allen and Jennifer Saunders recreate a famous scene from The Lion King in tonight's episode of There’s Something About Movies Carr plays Simba…
Wed 30 October 2019
Tom Basden pilots BBC mockumentary
Down The Zambezi filmed in South Africa this summer
30/10/2019 … Tom Basden is piloting a BBC mockumentary set in Africa, Chortle can reveal.
It's a Mockery!
Mock The Week comics 'are given pre-written jokes' – claims former panellist Shappi Khorsandi
30/10/2019 … How much does Mock The Week showcase the gag-writing skills of the comedians taking part? Not much, alleges former panellist Shappi Khorsandi.
Ivo Graham to make Have I Got News For You debut
30/10/2019 … Ivo Graham is to make his debut on Have I Got News For You next week.
Not Going Out: Halloween Special
30/10/2019 … Despite the growing popularity of trick or treat, special Halloween episodes of British sitcoms are still relatively rare.
Alex Edelman on Conan O'Brien
30/10/2019 … Alex Edelman appeared on Conan O'Brien's talk show on Monday night – to demonstrate how brilliant a comedian Robin Williams was.
1,600 comedians to perform at Leicester festival
Showing just how big the circuit has become
30/10/2019 … The Leicester Comedy Festival has published its 2020 programme, featuring more than 1,600 performers.
HBO special for James Veitch
Conan O'Brien's company to produce his show for new streaming service
30/10/2019 … British comedian James Veitch has landed his own HBO special.
US comic John Witherspoon dies at 77
30/10/2019 … American comedian John Witherspoon has died at the age of 77.
Tue 29 October 2019
© Nobby Clark Man In The White Suit to close early
Poor sales hits West End remake of Ealing comedy
29/10/2019 … The West End version of The Man In The White Suit is to close early, after struggling to sell tickets.
© BBC More Than Likely by Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais
29/10/2019 … Comedy fans know Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais as the creators of The Likely Lads, Porridge and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
Ricky Gervais makes amends in art row
Indigenous artist compensated for 'appropriation' of his work
29/10/2019 … Ricky Gervais has made changes to the new series of After Life after being accused of cultural appropriation.
You're not welcome here!
Another venue pulls a Roy Chubby Brown gig
29/10/2019 … Another council has pulled a Roy Chubby Brown gig saying the comic did not reflect its values.
Top comics sign up for online sitcom
James Acaster, Joel Dommett and more guest star in Content
29/10/2019 … Comics including James Acaster, Joel Dommett, Mark Silcox and Kieran Hodgson are to make appearances in a new online sitcom.
Can you spot the fake Garth Marenghi title?
A Halloween edition of our Tuesday trivia quiz
29/10/2019 … Test your comedy knowledge with our weekly multiple-choice trivia quiz, compiled – as always – by broadcaster and comedy historian Hayden Parker.
Men are better at jokes than women
29/10/2019 … It is not research that is likely to be especially well-received – but scientists have found that men are better at writing jokes than women.
Mon 28 October 2019
How Michael Portillo helped create Alan B'Stard
Extract from a new biography of Rik Mayall
28/10/2019 … Mark Searby, the resident film critic on BBC Radios Northampton and Suffolk, has written a new biography about Rik Mayall, concentrating on his work and compiled…
Comedy Canteen
Gig review by Steve Bennett at the Bill Murray, London
28/10/2019 … Sometimes it seems you can’t turn on TV without catching a cooking programme or open a newspaper without reading about the latest foodie trend.
David Hasselhoff joins 9 To 5
Baywatch star heads to the West End
28/10/2019 … David Hasselhoff is joining the cast of West End comedy musical 9 To 5.
© BBC Guz Khan takes over Takeshi’s Castle
Man Like Mobeen star to provide commentary
28/10/2019 … Guz Khan is to host the next series of Takeshi’s Castle.
Shooting starts on Friday Night Dinner series 6
28/10/2019 … Shooting beings today on the sixth series of Friday Night Dinner.
Art of the podast
New show from comic Annie McGrath
28/10/2019 … Comedian Annie McGrath is launching a new podcast based on her love of art.
Sun 27 October 2019
© BBC Little Britain to return
Matt Lucas and David Walliams reunite for Brexit special
27/10/2019 … Matt Lucas and David Walliams are reuniting after more than a decade to bring Little Britain back.
Brexitstential comedy
The best of the week's comedy on TV and radio
27/10/2019 … The week's comedy on TV and radio.
Why people hate vegans
27/10/2019 … Alfie Brown explains why people hate vegans in a new BBC Three clip.
Stewart Lee unveils his new show
27/10/2019 … The week's best live comedy.
Sat 26 October 2019
Chris Ramsey lives to dance another week
Viewers save comic who came bottom of the Strictly leaderboard
26/10/2019 … Chris Ramsey has survived another week on Strictly Come Dancing, despite coming bottom of the leaderboard.
© C4 Harry Hill's Clubnite
26/10/2019 … Channel 4’s new late-night comedy show looks very much like an old one – and it’s none the worse for that.
Eddie Murphy's return to form
The best of the week's comedy on demand
26/10/2019 … The week's best comedy on demand.
Andy Parsons: Healing The Nation
Gig review by Steve Bennett at the Palace Theatre, Southend
26/10/2019 … In such a febrile time in Westminster as now, political comedians should shine.
© HBO John Oliver: I've turned down an OBE
Comic says he was offered the honour this year
26/10/2019 … John Oliver has turned down an OBE.
Tom Allen joins Children In Need
Comic among the presenters for the BBC telethon
26/10/2019 … Tom Allen is to join BBC One’s Children in Need presenting team for the first time.
Fri 25 October 2019
People Just Do Nothing start filming - in Tokyo
25/10/2019 … Kurupt FM have begun filming their movie – in Tokyo.
What if you read the Bible backwards?
25/10/2019 … Tweets of the week The sequel to Groundhog Day is Groundhog Day.
Jon Culshaw doesn't leave a good impression
Fans left hanging as comic wasn't told about his own show
25/10/2019 … Impressionist Jon Culshaw has told of the shock of missing his own gig at the weekend – as he just didn’t know about it.
New radio show and podcast for John Robins and Elis James
Talking to celebrities about their struggles
25/10/2019 … Elis James and John Robins are to host a new show, going out as a BBC podcast and Radio 5 Live broadcast.
Dawn Of A New Gay
Jack Rooke on his sexual awakening
25/10/2019 … Comedian Jack Rooke tells a tale of sexual enlightenment from the pre-Brexit, London-Olympic bliss of 2012 in this short film.
© Ricardo Liberato/CC BY-SA 2.0 The mystery of what makes a joke funny
25/10/2019 … How do you like the following joke from Sumeria in about 1900BC? "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her…
Filming wraps on After Life series 2
25/10/2019 … Filming has wrapped on the second series of Ricky Gervais’s Netflix comedy After Life.
What's it like to perform comedy in a hospice?
Toni Kent on an unusual daytime gig
25/10/2019 … When my friend Bel was in the final stages of cancer, her husband busted her out from hospital and took her to an end-of-life hospice – in doing so she spent…
Comics donate jokes to fundraising poster
In aid of Leicester Comedy Festival
25/10/2019 … Comedians including Romesh Ranganathan, Milton Jones and Tim Vine have donated jokes for a poster to raise money for Leicester Comedy Festival.
© Kelly Bachman/ Zoe Stuckless Harvey Weinstein confronted at comedy gig
Yet it's the 'heckler' who's asked to leave
25/10/2019 … Given the rape accusations swirling around Harvey Weinstein, you might expect him to keep a low profile.
Julian Clary to star in The Dresser
New stage production alongside Matthew Kelly
25/10/2019 … Julian Clary is to star in a new production of The Dresser, playing the title role of an ageing actor's long-suffering personal assistant.
© Matt Crockett Comedy Women in Print prize returns
25/10/2019 … The Comedy Women in Print prize is returning for a second year.
Thu 24 October 2019
Thinking inside the box...
New short about the insecurities of stand-up
24/10/2019 … The fears and insecurities of a new comedian are explored in this short from film-maker Emmet Colton.
Darius Davies: Persian of Interest
Gig review by Steve Bennett at Top Secret comedy club, London
24/10/2019 … It’s a shame the job of ‘being Dave Gorman’ is already taken, because Darius Davies would make a fine candidate for the job, given the way he uses…
Slapstick festival finalises its 2020 programme
Including a Buster Keaton film screened in Bristol Cathedral
24/10/2019 … The Slapstick classic comedy festival has added actor Paul McGann, broadcaster Samira Ahmed and comedians Shappi Khorsandi and Lucy Porter to its line-up.
© C4 Whitehalls join Gogglebox
Jack, Michael and Hilary in celebrity special
24/10/2019 … Jack Whitehall has joined Celebrity Gogglebox – along with dad Michael and mum Hilary.
E4 seeks comedians to be the new face of the channel
Open auditions in London, Manchester and Birmingham
24/10/2019 … E4 is looking for comedians who could be one of the next faces of the channel.
Frayed up for five top Australian TV awards
This is so lovely,' says creator Sarah Kendall
24/10/2019 … Sarah Kendall’s Sky One comedy Frayed has been shortlisted for five Aacta awards – Australia’s equivalent to the Baftas.
Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Saunders to star in Sister Act
24/10/2019 … Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Saunders are to star together in Sister Act on the London stage Goldberg will play the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier, as she did…
Wed 23 October 2019
I'm A Ghost
23/10/2019 … Musical comedian Hannah Warman has released a new track, I’m A Ghost – just in time for Halloween.
Frank Skinner to hit the West End
Month-long London residency announced
23/10/2019 … Frank Skinner is to take his latest stand-up show Showbiz to the West End.
Tommy Tiernan to take RTE prime-time slot
23/10/2019 … Tommy Tiernan is to host a prime-time Saturday talk show on Irish channel RTE One.
London date for Nick Kroll
Co-creator of Netflix series Big Mouth comes to the UK
23/10/2019 … American comic Nick Kroll has announced a London date.
Netflix to air Mike Birbiglia’s The New One
Broadway hit comes to streaming platform
23/10/2019 … Netflix has brought the rights to Mike Birbiglia’s one-man Broadway show The New One.
Comedy Central orders Patrice O’Neal documentary
'This will solidify his legacy'
23/10/2019 … America’s Comedy Central has commissioned a documentary about stand-up Patrice O’Neal, featuring never-before-seen personal material.
© BBC/Big Talk Productions Second series for Defending The Guilty
Katherine Parkinson and Will Sharpe to return in legal comedy
23/10/2019 … BBC Two has ordered a second series of its legal comedy Defending The Guilty, starring Katherine Parkinson and Will Sharpe.
Tue 22 October 2019
Could Big and Daft reunite?
Ian Boldsworth hints at the return of his sketch trio
22/10/2019 … Are sketch trio Big and Daft reuniting? The knockabout trio, Rob Rouse, Ian Boldsworth and Jon Williams, performed together from 1997 to 2002, taking three shows…
What is the first name of Hightower in Police Academy?
22/10/2019 … Test your comedy knowledge with our weekly multiple-choice trivia quiz, compiled – as always – by broadcaster and comedy historian Hayden Parker.
Robin Ince turns the Albert Hall into an 'underwater playground’
Sea Shambles for iconic London venue
22/10/2019 … Robin Ince is to stage another of his mammoth Shambles shows at the Royal Albert Hall - this time transforming the historic London venue into a ‘virtual…
Fans' fury as Jim Davidson gig pulled with minutes to spare
Venue says: it wasn't our fault
22/10/2019 … Jim Davidson fans have been left fuming after a gig was pulled with less than an hour to go.
Win a trip to see Groan Ups in London – including hotel stay
From the team behind The Play That Goes Wrong
22/10/2019 … Mischief Theatre– the company behind The Play That Goes Wrong – have returned to the West End with their new comedy Groan Ups, and we have…
New BBC podcast from Tom Neenan
22/10/2019 … Tom Neenan is launching a new podcast on BBC Sounds.
Extra Ordinary
22/10/2019 … Stand-up Maeve Higgins, who moved to New York in 2014, returns to rural Ireland with a parochial take on Ghostbusters in this low-key, charmingly offbeat horror-comedy.
Inside No 9 pair join Gogglebox
Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith in celebrity special
22/10/2019 … Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith are to appear on Channel 4’s Gogglebox.
Mon 21 October 2019
© UKTV Dave Gorman: Terms And Conditions Apply
21/10/2019 … Although bringing his delightful Modern Life Is Goodish to an end disappointed fans, few would have begrudged Dave Gorman his decision after he explained the toll…
Billy Connolly answers comedians's questions
21/10/2019 … Billy Connolly has been sharing his comedy tips with fellow stand-ups.
Greg Davies has a surprise for Ed Gamble
21/10/2019 … Greg Davies pulls his trousers down to reveal a surprise for Ed Gamble in this Taskmaster outtake.
Ricky Gervais on being in Scooby-Doo
21/10/2019 … Ricky Gervais said it’s ‘flattering’ to be asked to play an exaggerated version of himself in Scooby-Doo.
Comedians play disgruntled old TV viewers
...in a new ad campaign for BBC iPlayer
21/10/2019 … Guz Khan, Natasia Demetriou and Ghosts star Kiell Smith-Bynoe are starring in a new series of adverts for the BBC.
Friends hits cinemas
...but it's not a movie, just sitcom episodes
21/10/2019 … Friends is coming to the big screen to mark its 25th anniversary.
© Amy Schumer/Instagram Amy Schumer to make pregnancy documentary
For HBO's new streaming service
21/10/2019 … Amy Schumer is making an ‘unfiltered’ documentary about her rough pregnancy.
Sun 20 October 2019
© Catherine Harbour Masked raider breaks into Katherine Ryan's home
Boyfriend fights him off as he grabs laptop
20/10/2019 … Katherine Ryan has revealed a masked man broke into her home last night.
© C4 Harry Hill returns... with the best of the comedy circuit
The best of the week's comedy on TV and radio
20/10/2019 … The week's best comedy on TV and radio.
UK debut for trans stand-up show
20/10/2019 … The week's best live comedy.
Ralf Little joins Death In Paradise
20/10/2019 … Ralf Little is to be the new star of BBC drama Death in Paradise, replacing Ardal O'Hanlon.
Sat 19 October 2019
'Improving... but still flat-footed'
Chris Ramsey in Strictly's bottom three
19/10/2019 … Chris Ramsey is again at risk in Strictly Come Dancing after coming third from bottom.
Channel 4 passes on Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont pilot
They won't be the new Richard and Judy...
19/10/2019 … Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont have lost out on their bid to be the new king and queen of daytime TV.
© Netflix Miles better
The week's best podcasts and comedy on demand
19/10/2019 … The week's best podcasts and comedy on demand.
© UKTV Imagine... Sir Lenny's life
Henry to be the subject of BBC One's arts documentary
19/10/2019 … Sir Lenny Henry is to be the subject of a prestigious BBC One Imagine… documentary.
Fri 18 October 2019
How to get the Trump look
John Culshaw explains how he gets the hair just so...
18/10/2019 … When it comes to impressions, attention to detail can mean going to the most extreme lengths.
I've just been given these cards...
18/10/2019 … Tweets of the week Captcha In The Rye - the tale of a teenage robot, Holden Caulfield, who tries to pass himself off as a human — Moose Allain Ꙭ…
'My lungs look like the meat from a late-night kebab shop'
40-a-day man Phil Ellis fronts anti-smoking film
18/10/2019 … Stand-up Phil Ellis as the face of a public health campaign seems about as likely as the world's largest tobacco firm funding an anti-smoking initiative.
The One With The Misconduct In The Workplace
How Friends characters make poor employees
18/10/2019 … They might be good Friends, but Rachel, Joey, Ross, Chandler, and Phoebe make terrible employees, according to a new analysis of their workplace behaviour.
Jim Jefferies set to star in his own US sitcom
Playing a fictionalised version of himself
18/10/2019 … Jim Jefferies is set to star in his own American sitcom.
Finally! Red Dwarf movie IS happening
Feature-length special for Dave
18/10/2019 … The long-awaited Red Dwarf movie is finally happening.
Thu 17 October 2019
West Didsbury gets a comedy festival
30 gigs over a weekend in Manchester suburb
17/10/2019 … West Didsbury is to get its own comedy festival.
Island of Recalled Toys
17/10/2019 … Robot Chicken takes a visit to the Island of Recalled Toys in this new clip.
David Walliams gets his own theme park attraction
17/10/2019 … David Walliams is to get his own theme park – or at least part of one.
Giuliani! Here he goes again
17/10/2019 … Randy Rainbow has issued another of his song parodies, ripping into Rudi Giuliani and his involvement in the Ukraine scandal enveloping the White House.
Jonathan Pie: The Fake News Tour
Gig review by Steve Bennett at the Hexagon, Reading
17/10/2019 … Midway through a typically impassioned rant against ‘woke’ comedy, spoof news reporter Jonathan Pie rages: ‘Sometimes you want to have a laugh…
Comic Relief launches its own comedy club.
17/10/2019 … Comic Relief has launched its own comedy club.
Nick Elleray: Big Nick Energy
Gig review by Steve Bennett at Museum Of Comedy, London
17/10/2019 … Nick Elleray tells us that an inner rage burns inside him.
© Jaimie Gramston 'Bits of me are falling off – but it's interesting'
Billy Connolly talks about his health problems
17/10/2019 … Billy Connolly has said that he finds it ‘interesting’ that ‘bits of me are falling off’ as he ages.
© Mohamed Hassan Netflix scales back its spending on stand-up
17/10/2019 … Netflix is scaling back its investment in stand-up that has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the top end of the business.
James Veitch gets a peach of a job
Hosting the Bafta Britannia Awards in LA
17/10/2019 … British comedian James Veitch has scored a major coup – by being asked to host this year’s Bafta Britannia Awards in Los Angeles.
Tim Key and Daisy-May Cooper to star in Witchfinder comedy
'One of the best double-acts in British comedy'
17/10/2019 … Tim Key and This Country star Daisy May Cooper are to star in a new BBC Two comedy about a witchfinder and his suspect.
© BBC Miranda celebration to be taped at the London Palladium
17/10/2019 … The BBC has revealed more details about the one-off Miranda special to mark ten years since the sitcom aired.
Wed 16 October 2019
Don't panic! Actor gets his stolen Dad's Army uniform back
Nicked props are dumped a bush
16/10/2019 … Actor Julian Dutton has been reunited with his stolen Dad’s Army uniform after a blitz of publicity over the theft.
Release date for Catherine Tate's Nan movie
16/10/2019 … Catherine Tate's Nan movie has been given an official release date – and a new title.
© Rose d'Or UK tour for John Cleese's first stage farce
Bang Bang! is an adaptation of 1892 French play
16/10/2019 … The first stage play written by John Cleese is to embark on a UK tour.
Jonathan Ross's most embarrassing moment
As revealed on There's Something About Movies
16/10/2019 … Jonathan Ross reveals his most embarrassing moment when he appears on There's Something About Movies tomorrow night.
© Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) Comedians on canvas
Some of the art featured in an exhibition of comics' work
16/10/2019 … Earlier this week we reported how a new charity art exhibition will including the likes of Josie Long, Jack Whitehall, Lolly Adefope and Joe Lycett.
I caught Mel Smith snorting coke in Freddie Mercury's house
16/10/2019 … His comic persona was of the slightly dour, slightly dim, world-weary everyman – but away from the camera, Mel Smith could be quite different.
© BBC Still Game to get an outstanding contribution Bafta
...but a brawl mars its final stage outing
16/10/2019 … Still Game is to receive a Scottish Bafta for its outstanding contribution to broadcasting.
Tue 15 October 2019
Finding laughs in Brexit
Kieran Hodgson makes an EU-inspired comedy for C4
15/10/2019 … Kieran Hodgson has made a Brexit comedy for Channel 4, Chortle can reveal.
Lenny Henry's Race Through Comedy
15/10/2019 … Despite a small handful of high-profile exceptions, black and Asian characters tend to be under-represented in TV comedy.
© BBC What is Gary: Tank Commander's surname?
15/10/2019 … Test your comedy knowledge with our weekly multiple-choice trivia quiz, compiled – as always – by broadcaster and comedy historian Hayden Parker.
Candles, by Joz Norris
15/10/2019 … Comedian Joz Norris reckons his latest video is a 'very serious drama about a dying relationship'.
'I say, would you mind terribly returning my stolen Dad's Army costume?'
Actor Julian Dutton makes appeal after theft
15/10/2019 … It’s probably not the sort of clothing you’d normally associate with a couple of Essex thieves.
Andrew Lawrence reverts to type
New tour kicks out against 'PC garbage'
15/10/2019 … Andrew Lawrence’s foray into clean controversy-free comedy has been short-lived.
Returning underwear
15/10/2019 … American comic Cody Reiss tries to return some underwear that makes his dick look small in this clip from Comedy Central in the US.
David O’Doherty writes a kids' heist adventure
The Summer I Robbed A Bank out next year
15/10/2019 … David O’Doherty has written a comic heist book for children.
© CBS E4 buys Matt LeBlanc comedy
Man With A Plan coming to the UK
15/10/2019 … E4 is to air Matt LeBlanc’s latest comedy Man With A Plan.
Comedy Central orders yet more Roast Battles
With guest judges for series 4
15/10/2019 … Comedy Central has renewed Roast Battle for a fourth series.
Mon 14 October 2019
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 3 trailer
14/10/2019 … Amazon Prime has released the trailer for the third series of The Marvelous Mrs.
Filming starts on Man Like Mobeen series 3
Guz Khan posts a first picture from the Birmingham set
14/10/2019 … Filming has started in on the third series of Man Like Mobeen in Birmingham.
© Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) The art of comedy
Exhibition dedicated to the artwork of comedians
14/10/2019 … A new art exhibition will feature only works by comedians, including creations from Josie Long, Jack Whitehall, Lolly Adefope, Joe Lycett and others.
© Andrew Perry Baby Reindeer at the Bush Theatre, London
Review of Richard Gadd's show about stalking
14/10/2019 … How much torment can one man bear? Richard Gadd previously excoriated his soul with the grim tale of how he was groomed and sexually abused as a young man.
Ireland's RTE launches new comedy competition
14/10/2019 … Irish broadcaster RTE has launched a hunt for new stand-up talent.
© BBC Vic Reeves to front video art documentary
BBC Four commissions Kill Your TV
14/10/2019 … Vic Reeves is to explore the history of video art in an hour-long show for BBC Four.
Rose Matafeo’s Starstruck sold to Australia and New Zealand
14/10/2019 … Rose Matafeo’s forthcoming sitcom Starstuck has been sold to Australia and her native New Zealand.
Guilty Feminist goes global
International dates for Deborah Frances-White's podcast
14/10/2019 … Deborah Frances-White is taking her Guilty Feminist podcast on an international tour.
Sun 13 October 2019
One in three female comics has been sexually harassed on stage
...and half have been made to feel uncomfortable backstage
13/10/2019 … More than one in three female comedians has felt sexually harassed while on stage, and one in six have been followed after a gig.
Spongebob 'is an apologist for military colonisation'
US academic accuses Mr Squarepants of normalising violence and racism
13/10/2019 … You might think Spongebob Squarepants as a friendly sea sponge who lives in a pineapple beneath the sea and loves blowing bubbles.
© Damian Bennett Return of the rock n roll nerd
13/10/2019 … The week's best live comedy on radio and TV.
© UKTV/Mark Johnson Lenny Henry looks at race in comedy
The best of the week's comedy on TV and radio
13/10/2019 … The week's best comedy on radio and TV.
Saturday Night Live's Joker parody
Another gritty anti-hero origin story
13/10/2019 … Inspired by Joker, Saturday Night Live came up with their own 'gritty anti-hero origin story' last night.
Wretched, isn't it?
Stephen Moore, the voice of Marvin The Paranoid Android, dies at 81
13/10/2019 … Stephen Moore – the actor who voiced Marvin The Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy– has died aged 81 He played the…
Sat 12 October 2019
© BBC Saturday Night's Alright (for fighting for your place in Strictly)
Chris Ramsey in jeopardy, just three from bottom
12/10/2019 … Chris Ramsey equalled his highest score from judges on Strictly Come Dancing tonight - but still came third from bottom of the leaderboard.
Pick up the Heavy Pencil
New podcast from Anna Crilly and Tony Gardiner, and the rest of the week's comedy on demand
12/10/2019 … The week’s new comedy on demand… Heavy Pencil Comedy actors Anna Crilly and her Lead Balloon co-star Tony Gardiner have created this new character-led…
Fri 11 October 2019
Revealed: the comic who came up with Wagatha Christie
Dan Atkinson says he's had marriage proposals
11/10/2019 … Comedian Dan Atkinson has been revealed as the man who coined the phrase ‘Wagatha Christie’.
The Day Shall Come
11/10/2019 … How to effectively satirise a world in which Donald Trump is President vexes some of the greatest minds of the artform.
Frank Skinner: Showbiz
Tour review by Steve Bennett at G Live, Guildford
11/10/2019 … He was the face of the lad comics who dominated the 1990s, talking football on the telly and sex, in graphic detail, on stage.
Shush! It's the world's first ASMR stand-up special
Jack Barry latches on to an online phenomenon
11/10/2019 … Jack Barry is to become the first comedian to release a stand-up special in the style of an ASMR video.
Painting a beaver with your tongue
11/10/2019 … The Taskmaster team get engrossed with the ins and outs of painting a beaver with your tongue in this outtake.
Matt Lucas loses £250,000 on his LA home
Sold for less than he paid for it
11/10/2019 … Matt Lucas has sold his home in the Hollywood Hills – but a a £250,000 loss.
Nobody puts the 12:47 to Gravesend in the sidings...
Katy Brand's Dirty Dancing PR stunt takes over London Bridge station
11/10/2019 … Katy Brand helped stop commuters in their tracks yesterday with a stunt to promote her new Dirty Dancing themed book I Carried A Watermelon.
Last Of The Summer Wine's Pearl dies at 80
Juliette Kaplan had been fighting cancer
11/10/2019 … Juliette Kaplan, who played Last Of The Summer Wine battleaxe Pearl Sibshaw for 25 years has died at the age of 80.
Thu 10 October 2019
Brassic goes global
Sky comedy sold to five nations
10/10/2019 … Sky One’s new comedy show Brassic has been sold to five countries around the world.
In sickness and in health
Dave Cohen on the mental health issues surrounding comedy
10/10/2019 … This article was first published on Chortle last year, but as World Mental Health Day comes around again, Dave Cohen's thoughts on the toll a career…
Bobby Mair to host a spooky ITV2 reality show
'Facilitating murder is the job I was born to do'
10/10/2019 … Bobby Mair is to present a murder-mystery reality TV show in the run-up to Halloween.
A day in the life of Sting
10/10/2019 … Katy Wix has made a 'mellifluous and surreal' short film about a fictional day in the life of Sting.
Jennifer Saunders recreates the fake orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally
For There’s Something About Movies
10/10/2019 … Jennifer Saunders has recreated the famous fake orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally.
Rob and Romesh to host Royal Variety Performance
Flo & Joan, Kerry Godliman and Frank Skinner also on the bill
10/10/2019 … Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan are to host this year’s Royal Variety Performance.
© BBC 'We ruined our old teacher's life. Sorry'
This Country duo used his real name in their comedy
10/10/2019 … The siblings behind BBC comedy This Country have apologised for making the life of one of their old teachers a misery – after using his real name in the show.
Australia gets its own Drunk History
10/10/2019 … Australia is to get its own version of Drunk History.
Ardal O'Hanlon quits Death In Paradise
10/10/2019 … Ardal O’Hanlon is to quit Death In Paradise.
Wed 09 October 2019
Rudi Lickwood’s Five Minutes To Shine
New act final review by Steve Bennett
09/10/2019 … New act finals can be stressful enough for the inexperienced comedian at the best of time, but Rudi Lickwood’s Five Minutes To Shine added an extra –…
Frisky & Mannish: Pop Lab
Gig review by Steve Bennett at the Y Theatre, Leicester
09/10/2019 … It is a quarter-filled theatre in Leicester on a school night, but Frisky and Mannish are performing like it’s a sold-out London Palladium.
Full cast announced for BBC One comedy Bumps
Starring Amanda Redman as a woman who becomes a mum at 63
09/10/2019 … The full cast has been announced for the BBC One comedy pilot Bumps, in which Amanda Redman plays woman who becomes a mother again at 63.
Angelos Epithemiou announces his first tour in eight years
09/10/2019 … Angelos Epithemiou has announced a short autumn tour – his first in eight years.
'If you can't make jokes without hurting people, maybe you're no good at it'
Marc Maron reacts to claims 'woke culture' is killing comedy
09/10/2019 … Marc Maron has hit back at Joker director Todd Phillips’s claim that ‘woke culture’ is stifling comedy.
Have you got a cracker of a topical joke?
Enter Gold's annual gag competition
09/10/2019 … ⬛ PROMOTIONAL FEATURE The Gold TV channel has announced the return of its annual national joke competition to discover the best new Christmas cracker gags.
Rob Delaney joins Good House movie
Alongside Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline
09/10/2019 … Rob Delaney has been cast in a new movie alongside Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline.
Tue 08 October 2019
2020 tour for Matt Richardson
18 dates for his Imposter show
08/10/2019 … Stand-up and broadcaster Matt Richardson has announced a 2020 tour.
Tim Renkow gets a Bafta booster
Comic selected for a programme of mentoring and more
08/10/2019 … Comedian Tim Renkow has been selected as one of 21 performers to be given a career booster from Bafta.
Rosie Tries To Help The Elderly
With Rosie Jones and Ed Gamble
08/10/2019 … Here's the first episode of Rosie Tries To Help, the new series of Comedy Central shorts starring comic Rosie Jones.
© Hat Trick Productions / Ray Burmiston I thought the tub of lard was more likely to be PM than Boris
Ian Hislop on the return of Have I Got News For You
08/10/2019 … Have I Got News For You returns to BBC One at 9pm on Friday for its 58th series, with the first episode presented by Martin Clunes, and…
Which band provides the theme music for Live At The Apollo?
08/10/2019 … Test your comedy knowledge with our weekly multiple-choice trivia quiz, compiled – as always – by broadcaster and comedy historian Hayden Parker.
Pretty, pretty, bad?
Larry David's much-maligned movie Sour Grapes gets an airing
08/10/2019 … Larry David’s long-forgotten 1998 film Sour Grapes is to be screened in London, as part of a day-long celebration of the Curb Your Enthusiasm creator.
Tim Key joins The End Of The F*****g World
Playing motel owner Gus in C4 comedy-drama
08/10/2019 … Tim Key has joined the cast of The End Of The F*****g World.
Improv meets chat show in new pilot
From members of the Austentatious team
08/10/2019 … The Mash Report’s Rachel Parris will join Cariad Lloyd and Graham Dickson in a new improv-chat-show format for Sky One.
© Button Hall Productions Image Type: Portraits Programme Maker: Monumental Dead good news! Ghosts gets a THIRD series
Before the second has even aired
08/10/2019 … The BBC has ordered a third series of its haunted house comedy Ghosts before the second has even aired.
Mon 07 October 2019
© BBC/Merman Motherland Series 2
07/10/2019 … It’s a welcome return for Motherland, the comedy that does for parenthood what The Thick Of It did for politics – revealing in ugly detail the stresses…
Mo Gilligan: Momentum
07/10/2019 … Some comedians set themselves away from the norm, others want to show they are just like you.
BBC Studios comedy chief to join Netflix
Chris Sussman heads for streaming giant, say reports
07/10/2019 … The former head of BBC Studios’ comedy unit is set to join Netflix.
Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2019
Gig review by Steve Bennett at the Glee comedy club
07/10/2019 … It has to be the least impressive trophy in comedy.
Appealing to the youth
Josh Widdicombe has an audience member aged just one
07/10/2019 … If broadcasters are obsessed with comedians with youth, Josh Widdicombe could be just what they need.
Comics talk mental health for Union Jack radio
22 shorts aimed at suicide prevention
07/10/2019 … Comedians have discussed mental health for a new series of 22 short features to air on digital radio station Union Jack.
American comic Rip Taylor dies at 84
07/10/2019 … Flamboyant American prop comic Rip Taylor has died at the age of 84.
© Jaimie Gramston Billy Connolly: I sleep like a wild animal
Comic speaks honestly about his Parkinson's
07/10/2019 … Billy Connolly has revealed that he can no longer sleep in the same bed as wife Pamela Stephenson because of his Parkinson’s disease 'I sleep like a…
Rick and Morty season 4 trailer
But just five new episodes are coming
07/10/2019 … Adult Swim has released a trailer for series 4 of Rick & Morty – more than two years after the last episode aired.
Audio book release for David Mitchell
New collection of newspaper columns
07/10/2019 … David Mitchell is to release an audio-book version of his new title, Dishonesty Is The Second-Best Policy: And Other Rules To Live By.
Sun 06 October 2019
New UK tour for John Kearns
06/10/2019 … The week's best live comedy Monday October 7 LONDON: One of the most accomplished debut shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, Stand Up with Janine Harouni…
© ITV/Noho Zombies + Canals = Zomboat
The best of the week's comedy on TV and radio
06/10/2019 … Our pick of the week’s comedy on TV and radio.
South Park pays tribute to Monty Python
06/10/2019 … South Park has paid tribute to Monty Python on its 50th anniversary.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge joins Love Island
06/10/2019 … Phoebe Waller-Bridge has entered Love Island - but only for the sake of Saturday Night Live.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Saturday Night Live monologue
Joking about 'hot priest' Andrew Scott
06/10/2019 … Phoebe Waller-Bridge joked that she was just like Fleabag – 'sexually-depraved, foul-mouthed and dangerous' – in her Saturday Night…
Royal Romance SNL sketch
With Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kenan Thompson
06/10/2019 … Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays minor royal Abigail, Duchess of Clerkenwell, in this Saturday Night Live sketch.
Sat 05 October 2019
'It wasn't a disaster'
Chris Ramsey does kind of OK on Strictly
05/10/2019 … Chris Ramsey scored a respectable 22 points on his third appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in Hollywood week.
Have you heard the latest gossip?
05/10/2019 … The week’s new comedy on demand… Dear Joan And Jericha Julia Davis and Vicki Pepperdine have returned as agony aunts Joan Damry and Jericha Domain,…
© Dave Freak Celya's AB fab
French comic scoops Birmingham Comedy Festival award
05/10/2019 … French comedian Celya AB has won this year’s Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award.
© BBC/Happy Tramp North BBC picks up Lee Mack's real-time sitcom
05/10/2019 … Lee Mack is to star in a BBC Two sitcom that unfolds in real-time, Chortle can reveal.
© Python (Monty) Pictures Limited Rare Monty Python pictures released
On the day the troupe celebrate their 50th anniversary
05/10/2019 … A new archive of photos and documents has been uncovered from the making of Monty Python.
Fri 04 October 2019
Trailer for Daniel Sloss's first HBO special
04/10/2019 … HBO has released the trailer for Daniel Sloss’s new special, X.
What if you carve your pumpkin early?
04/10/2019 … Tweets and quote of the week.
Russell Howard: Respite
Gig review by Alex Bruce at Wembley Arena
04/10/2019 … In Russell Howard’s new show solid observational material is – as usual – elevated by his superb, sustained pace, energy, and physical performance.
Vic Reeves to host The Big Flower Fight for Netflix
04/10/2019 … Vic Reeves is to present a gardening contest for Netflix dubbed a Bake Off for horticulturalists, Chortle can reveal.
Miles Jupp to make his RSC debut
Comic to star in The Comedy of Errors at Stratford
04/10/2019 … Miles Jupp is to make his Royal Shakespeare Company debut.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is too British for Taylor Swift
In this Saturday Night Live teaser
04/10/2019 … Phoebe Waller-Bridge writes a line that’s way too ‘British’ for Taylor Swift in this trailer for tomorrow’s Saturday Night Live.
Mark Watson writes two more novels
New deal with publishers HarperCollins
04/10/2019 … Mark Watson has signed a deal to write two more novels for publisher HarperCollins.
Comedy Central signs comics for new series of shorts
Including Desiree Burch, Rosie Jones, Jayde Adams and Huge Davies
04/10/2019 … Rosie Jones and Desiree Burch are to front two new series of shorts for Comedy Central.
Omid Djalili set to front ITV quiz show
New daytime show from makers of The Chase
04/10/2019 … Omid Djalili is set to host an ITV daytime quiz show from the makers of The Chase.
Michael Palin 'feels like a GTI' after heart op
But doctors tell him to take three months off
04/10/2019 … Sir Michael Palin has revealed that he’s on the road to recovery following his four-hour open heart surgery.
Thu 03 October 2019
Simon Brodkin announces 2020 tour
Lee Nelson prankster performing as himself
03/10/2019 … Comedian and prankster Simon Brodkin has announced his first tour as himself.
© Steve Ullathorne March of the Lemmings by Stewart Lee
03/10/2019 … Can you bear to read another word on Brexit? Sometimes it sees as if Stewart Lee can barely write one, even though he has been obsessed by covering every…
Monty Python album re-released on vinyl
To mark the troupe's 50th anniversary
03/10/2019 … Monty Python Sings (Again) is being reissued on vinyl tomorrow as part of the c troupe’s 50 -year anniversary.
Tom Davis pilots comedy football show
03/10/2019 … Murder In Successville’s Tom Davis is shooting a pilot show with Jamie Redknapp and his dad Harry.
Unfair fight! Comedy Central censored Phil Wang's Roast Battle jokes
Broadcaster vetoed gags about Daniel Sloss's dead sister
03/10/2019 … Comedy Central's Roast Battle is billed as being a brutal, no-holds-barred contest, in which comedians can say absolutely anything about their opponent, no matter…
Trailer for Dave Gorman's Terms And Conditions Apply*
*Does not show actual programme footage
03/10/2019 … Dave Gorman has released a trailer for his new series Terms And Conditions Apply.
Comics to honour Sean Hughes
Tribute gig on his 54th birthday, as his last stand-up gig is aired
03/10/2019 … Friends of Sean Hughes are to pay tribute by performing some of the late comedian’s work on what would have been his 54th birthday.
When is Tim Minchin's Upright coming to TV?
03/10/2019 … Sky has announced the launch date of Tim Minchin’s new comedy Upright.
Wed 02 October 2019
Netflix orders Iliza Shlesinger sketch show
Six half-hours from US comedian
02/10/2019 … American comedian Iliza Shlesinger is to make a self-titled sketch show for Netflix.
Alec Baldwin roast: The insults that got cut
02/10/2019 … Comedy Central has released some of the insults thrown at the Alec Baldwin Roast that didn't make it to air.
Making history: the TV comedy show with all black women on the panel
Landmark for Don’t Hate The Playaz
02/10/2019 … An ITV2 panel show will tonight become the first to feaure only black women on the teams.
Zoe Lyons records a sitcom pilot
With a cast of familiar comedy names
02/10/2019 … Zoe Lyons has recorded her sitcom pilot, No Gods No Golf.
Avalon gets a new chief executive
Laura Kennedy poached from US broadcast giant Lionsgate
02/10/2019 … Avalon’s comedy and TV empire has a new chief executive officer.
Win a signed copy of Lenny Henry's Who Am I, Again?
Memoirs tell of his early life and rise to fame
02/10/2019 … Sir Lenny Henry's memoirs are out tomorrow – and we have six signed copies to give away.
Trailer for The Amelia Gething Complex
BBC's new sketch show for teenagers
02/10/2019 … The BBC have released a tailer for their new sketch show, The Amelia Gething Complex.
Comedians join Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
02/10/2019 … Comics Phill Jupitus, Shappi Khorsandi, Jamali Maddix and Bobby Mair are all taking part in the next series of Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.
Hugh Bonneville joins seaside comedy Sandylands
Alongside Sanjeev Bhaskar, David Walliams and Simon Bird
02/10/2019 … Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville has joined the cast of Gold’s new seaside-set sitcom Sandylands.
Tue 01 October 2019
Lenny Henry: I never thought black people could be comedians
Clip to promote his new memoirs
01/10/2019 … Lenny Henry says he never thought comedy could be a job for him when he was younger - because he never saw black comics on TV.
Ben Elton Live 2019
Gig review by Steve Bennett at the Nottingham Playhouse
01/10/2019 … What is Ben Elton’s place in the world? At 60 years old and 15 years away from the front line of live comedy, can the stand-up who made his name by being radical…
© BBC/Gary Moyes French & Saunders join Death On The Nile
Starring alongside Russell Brand in Kenneth Branagh movie
01/10/2019 … Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have joined the cast of the new Death On The Nile movie.
Who ACTUALLY framed Roger Rabbit?
01/10/2019 … Test your comedy knowledge with our weekly multiple-choice trivia quiz, compiled – as always – by broadcaster and comedy historian Hayden Parker.
© BBC/Merman Shame on us for making Motherland so white
BBC comedy's writers admit they 'missed a trick' in casting
01/10/2019 … When BBC Two’s comedy Motherland launched last year it was garlanded with praise for its warts-and-all portrayal of flustered parents thrust together at…
Susan Calman is on the Menu
'Superfan' comic joins BBC Two's Great British Menu
01/10/2019 … Susan Calman is to present the next series of BBC Two's Great British Menu.
Union Jack backs Leicester Comedy Festival again
Radio station renews sponsorship for 2020
01/10/2019 … Digital radio station Union Jack has announced that it will be one of the sponsors of next year’s Leicester Comedy Festival.
Shappi Khorsandi: Boris Johnson touched me inappropriately too
Comic tells of physical contact on Question Time
01/10/2019 … Shappi Khorsandi has become the latest woman to claim Boris Johnson touched her inappropriately.
Jerry Seinfeld wins plagiarism case
Court throws out lawsuit over Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
01/10/2019 … Jerry Seinfeld has seen off a lawsuit that claimed he stole the idea for Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.
Iain Stirling to tape an Amazon Prime special
Failing Upwards tour to be recorded in his Edinburgh hometown
01/10/2019 … Iain Stirling is to become the next British stand-up to record an Amazon comedy special.
Royle Family reunion as Ricky Tomlinson and Ralf Little team up for road trip
New travel show across the north of England
01/10/2019 … Royle Family stars Ricky Tomlinson and Ralf Little are to reunite for a TV road trip.
© Netflix/Tiger Aspect Jack Whitehall's show has a big climax
01/10/2019 … A couple were thrown out of Jack Whitehall’s show at the weekend – for having sex in their seats.
That's Britain's top catchphrase? I don't believe it!
01/10/2019 … Victor Meldrew’s ‘I don’t believe it’ catchphrase has been voted Britain’s favourite.
© BBC BBC orders a third series of Motherland
'It will run as long as the team want to make it'
01/10/2019 … The BBC has commissioned a third series of Motherland.