BCG Daily Tuesday 9th October 2012

Freddie Starr was on Jimmy Savile show with accuser

Freddie Starr did appear alongside Jimmy Savile on a BBC television show, it has emerged, after footage of him alongside the woman who accused him of molesting her came to light.

The True History of the Black Adder: book extract

Read an extract from J.F. Roberts's new book, The True History of the Black Adder, which explores the final series of the BBC comedy set during the Great War.

Greg Davies interview

"I used my only drug trip to help play wasted dad."

Graham Norton: I won't have surgery on my eye bags

Graham Norton says he will never have surgery to get rid of his eye bags - as he doesn't want to end up looking like the "Chinese ambassador's gay brother".

Faber and Faber to publish 'Meaning of Liff' follow-up

Faber and Faber is set to publish a follow-up to Douglas Adams and John Lloyd's classic The Meaning of Liff, which has been in print since it was first released 30 years ago.

Hat Trick & Mitchell's Soapbox firm land YouTube deal

The firm behind David Mitchell's Soapbox, ChannelFlip, and Hat Trick Productiona have landed themselves a deal with YouTube to create new comedy in the UK.

Graham Norton defends modern chat shows

TV star Graham Norton has hit back following Michael Parkinson's criticism of the current generation of chat show hosts, and bemoaned the rise of "goody goody" dramas.

Vote for your favourite wildcard

Watch the videos of each runner-up performing and then place your vote on the BBC New Comedy Award homepage.

Robert Webb - I was probably a bit ghastly as a fresher

"At Cambridge I oozed with the studied vulnerability of a young man who thinks he is about due a massive amount of (safe!) sex. I'm delighted to say that it worked"

The Spotlight on ... Wilfredo

Occupying that sought-after middle-ground between Brian Gittins and Tony Ferrino, ladies and gentlemen (mainly the ladies): Wilfredo. Read the below imagining a guttural Andalucian accent.

Fresh Meat: behind the scenes

It is mid-August in a former electronics warehouse in east Manchester, and the filming of the second series of Fresh Meat - Channel 4's comedy drama about six students mismatched in a shared house - is nearing the end of its three-month shoot.

Joanna Page: Gavin & Stacey has finished

Joanna Page has ruled out another series as well as any special episodes of Gavin & Stacey, saying that they show ended when series three came to a close.

David Walliams: Doing comedy forever would get boring

David Walliams speaks to Metro about his work for Sport Relief, having Michael Caine as a fan and kissing Will Young on Parkinson.

Audio: Miranda Hart on her comical life

Miranda Hart, one of Britain's best known comedians has written her first book, Is it Just Me.

A former office temp, who worked as a PA for Comic Relief, she rose to fame with her television sitcom Miranda, in which she plays a hapless heroine who is hopeless with men.

Miranda explained to the BBC's arts correspondent Rebecca Jones that "there are times when... people want big, silly, warm, honest, eccentric humour and that seems to be now".

"I feel like I'm portraying everyone's friends that's worse than them... so people can go: 'my life is tricky but at least I'm not as bad as her.'"

Facebook 'jokes' about April Jones sick, not criminal

Sites such as Sickipedia may encourage offensive behaviour, but this should not an be issue for the law.

The freshers' guide to Fresh Meat

From house parties to dirty pints: Josie, JP, Vod, Howard, Oregon and Kingsley show us how to navigate those first few weeks at university...

Joe Thomas - I was quite similar to Kingsley at uni

"At Cambridge I met oddballs every day, like the guy who turned up to a David Starkey lecture dressed in Elizabethan court costume"

Charlotte Ritchie: I was as naive as Oregon

"I went to Freshers' Fair and signed up to everything, including Morris dancing. Then I had to get a new email address because I was so embarrassed"

Kimberley Nixon - Josie makes some dreadful decisions

"By the time you're 18, 19, you know yourself and you shouldn't go against your gut feeling, which is a temptation in the first year of university"

Zawe Ashton: no one at drama school could understand me

"I used to mumble a lot, which isn't ideal for an actress. That soon got beaten out of me!"

Greg McHugh: As fresher I woke up with a TV on my back

"Howard is the oddball of the house. In the opening scene he is hair-drying Peking ducks without any trousers or indeed pants on...which was a lot of fun to shoot, as you can imagine!"

Jack Whitehall: John Bishop saved my student comic nite

"The first night we did it our headliner pulled out so I frantically called round to find a replacement. Someone gave me the name of a stand-up based up north that I'd never heard of..."

Mark Gatiss among cast of Living with Mother series two

Doctor Who writer joins an all-star cast including Brigit Forsyth, Tom Goodman-Hill and Alison Steadman in the returning Radio 4 comedy.

Fresh Meat, Channel 4, review

Fresh Meat is the first successful comedy about students for almost 30 years, and judging by the second series opener, it could easily be sustained for a long time yet.

20 years later Les Dawson's laughter lives on

It will soon be 20 years since Mancunian comedy great Les Dawson died, but his jokes live on in a newly published book compiled by his wife Tracy and daughter Charlotte. Dianne Bourne talks to the mum and daughter about celebrating the legacy of Les.

Q&A: Miranda Hart reveals her most embarrassing moments

Miranda Hart is the lady who has made us all feel a little better about those social gaffes that befall us.

Video: Freddie Starr denies BBC grope claim

The comedian Freddie Starr has denied a claim he groped a 14-year-old girl in a BBC dressing room alongside Sir Jimmy Savile.

Mr Starr told the BBC that he would welcome the opportunity to speak to police about the allegation.

Fresh Meat: Series 2 Episode 1 review

Joe Thomas & Jack Whitehall shine in the return of this hilarious Channel 4 drama.

5 things you might not know about Julian Clary

The camp comic rose to fame through appearances on The Joan Collins Fanclub and Sticky Moments.

Moone Boy - review

Chris O'Dowd's nostalgic sitcom is a fine mixture of the gently innocent and comedically knowing.

Jenny Éclair's comedy heroes

The comic prefers 'comedy I can't do, stuff that doesn't touch my arena'.

Greg Davies on gigs in Glasgow

It's the stuff of showbusiness legend now that a Glasgow audience can be the toughest crowd in the country.

Parry and Crosby on Pappy's Last Show Ever

The trio are taking their much-lauded Fringe show on tour.

Darren Boyd & Rebekah Staton interview

Darren Boyd and Rebekah Staton talk to TV Choice ahead of Series 2...

Lacey Turner interview

Lacey Turner took a break from filming to tell TV Choice more...

Gina McKee interview

Gina McKee plays a mum in a new six-part sitcom set in the north-east. When prodigal son Jack returns home with a young woman in tow, he has to find the right time to tell his parents that, actually, he's now a married man...

Lacey Turner: I'm on a roll with the supernatural!

Former EastEnders actress Lacey Turner returns to our screens next week in Switch, a new ITV2 drama about a quartet of young witches living in London.

We Recommend: Fresh Meat

It's interesting, it's engaging, and it provides some of the best watching-behind-your-hands moments that I've ever come across.

Meet The Adebanjos To Hit East London Stage

Smash hit family TV sitcom Meet the Adebanjos is set to take the stage at the Hackney Empire for two live shows.