John Finnemore returns - with a twist | The week's best comedy on TV and radio © Matt Writtle

John Finnemore returns - with a twist

The week's best comedy on TV and radio

The week’s best new comedy on TV and radio...

Wednesday May 5

BLOODS: Samson Kayo and Jane Horrocks star as mismatched paramedic partners in this six-part comedy, commissioned following a successful 2018 pilot. Spiky South London boy Maleek is not impressed by new partner Wendy, a middle-aged divorcee who’s just moved to the capital.Sky One, 10pm

JOHNNY VEGAS: CARRY ON GLAMPING: This new four-part series charts the comedian’s attempts to create the country's coolest glamping site. Together with his long-suffering assistant Bev, he buys an old Maltese bus online, just one of the old vehicles he wants for the site. Naturally nothing quite goes to plan. All episodes will be available on All 4 immediately after this one goes out. Channel 4, 10pm

Thursday May 6

JOHN FINNEMORE’S SOUVENIR PROGRAMME: With no studio audiences to be had, the ninth series of this sketch show has a different format. Each episode is made up of scenes from one person's life, played in reverse order - which really just sounds like showing off by writer/performer Finnemore. But the BBC makes clear there’s no narrative, it’s just that the scenes in each episode all happened to one person. Episode one is all about Russ, played by Lawry Lewin, and takes place between a Christmas day Zoom in 2020, and a funeral he attended as a six-year-old in 1986. Other cast supporting Finnemore over the series are, as always, Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, and Carrie Quinlan. Radio 4, 6.30pm

Friday May 7

HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU: Steph McGovern will host with guests Zoe Lyons and journalist John Pienaar, making his first appearance on the programme. BBC One, 9pm

THIS TIME WITH ALAN PARTRIDGE: We’ve been sworn to secrecy about just who it is, but this week’s episode features a treat for Alanophiles as a blast from his past returns to make amends… BBC One, 9.30pm

Saturday May 8

MURDER THEY HOPE: Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson return as Terry and Gemma for a new series of whodunit comedy capers, following the success of the occasional one-offs. Now they have decided to pack up the smouldering remains of their coach tour business and set out on a new adventure as fully-fledged private investigators. They are joined by an A-list cast over the three-part series including new regulars Sarah Hadland as Monica, Gemma's sister, and Shobna Gulati as her sister-in-law, plus the likes of Lee Mack, Paul Whitehouse, Hannah Waddingham, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Adrian Scarborough, and Jason Manford. Each episode has been written by stand-up Jason Cook who also penned the prequels Murder on the Blackpool Express, Death on the Tyne and Dial M for Middlesbrough Gold, 9pm

Published: 2 May 2021

Live comedy picks

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