Preview - Crackanory

Dave has been on a roll with its comedy shows recently. Earlier in January two of its shows, Red Dwarf XI and Taskmaster, won Comedy.co.uk Awards, with the former winning "Comedy of the Year". Another one of their shows that always makes for fun, if disturbing viewing, is their storytelling show Crackanory, where a different guest reads a different dark comic tale.

The bedtime story series for grown-ups returns for a fourth run, with famous faces reading to camera as strange, twisted and often riotous worlds come to life via accompanying live action or animation. Kicking things off is Dara O Briain, reading the story of a Roman slave who, in trying to dodge his death, puts his life very much in danger. Continues tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday with Sheridan Smith, Bob Mortimer and Anna Friel spinning yarns.

Obviously based on Jackanory, this is the new series of the storytelling show for adults. I never watched Jackanory as a child as I assumed anything that wasn't done as a cartoon would be for adults, and therefore boring. So I had a childhood free of Newsround and Blue Peter and I never got to use "sticky-backed plastic." But why should Jackanory have been aimed only at children when everyone loves a good story? I'll bet there were mums and grandads and stern aunties who were reading the paper or paying the bills but secretly had an ear cocked to the TV. Now they don't need to pretend as we have a grown-up version. Tonight, Dara O Briain who tells a story called A Close Slave, set in ancient Rome. Give yourself up to a good old-fashioned bit of storytelling.

The sadistic storytelling series returns with a new selection of fables for adults. Paul Whitehouse narrates the tale of a "fully immersive battle re-enactment" that inevitably gets out of hand. Next, Carrie Fisher's soothing presence contrasts with a story about a young couple who check into a mysterious B&B. Why is it the only place in the town with a vacancy? It's not just because of the three-minute shower rule. The twisted lovechild of Jackanory and Tales of the Unexpected delivers darkness and laughs.

Radio Times review

The impressive adult storybook series continues on its dark and disturbing way with the usually jolly Johnny Vegas (somewhat incongruously) narrating a creepy story about a bric-a-brac collector who finds everything he has ever owned suddenly coming up for sale before a dark vengeance horribly unravels.

Then comes Meera Syal with a comparatively cheerful yarn about a local newspaper obituary writer who embarks on a killing spree in order to keep her name in the paper and her job alive. Sweet it ain't.

Radio Times review

David Mitchell and Katherine Parkinson narrate this round of delectably creepy tales. In the first, a surprise party goes horribly wrong when the birthday boy inadvertently reveals he's not as ordinary as his wife has always thought. The Peep Show comedian's nasal voice is perfect for this twisted suburban tale but it's Parkinson's that really sends shivers down the spine. After an earthquake in Basildon, a pensions and payroll team buried beneath the rubble must go to extreme lengths to survive.