BCG Daily Tuesday 14th October 2014

News

Press clippings

ITV spark fury with Alzheimer's joke

ITV has apologised after Jimeoin opened his sketch on the family show by making light of Alzheimer's.

Tom Bryant, The Mirror, 14th October 2014

Video: Muslim comedian fronts anti-extremist film

A new short film from a Muslim comedian aims to stop teenagers in the East Midlands from being radicalised by extremist groups. The police have recruited Humza Arshad, also known as Badman, to make the film.

BBC News, 14th October 2014

Radio Times review

Heydon accosts Theresa May at the Police Federation Conference in Bournemouth, while Jolyon befuddles celebrities in Cannes with questions about torture and radical Islam.

Ironically, the funniest clip sees Jolyon swallowing a taste of his own medicine: posing as a right-wing US journalist, he is taken to task by the nonplussed employee of a legal cannabis nursery in Colorado.

Claire Webb, Radio Times, 14th October 2014

Radio Times review

Kerry Howard is best known as a brilliantly vile bridezilla in BBC Three's superlative black comedy Him & Her. (Trivia alert: she also happens to be the sister of comedian Russell Howard.) Here, her character Marilyn works in promotions, which involves donning tangerine tights and pushing a lurid orange drink called Nectarino ("the taste of sunshine in a bottle!") on resistant shoppers. Ex-EastEnder Tracy-Ann Oberman plays her delightfully un-PC boss, and look out for X Factor finalist Diana Vickers as another of the tangerine mannequins.

Bravo to Comedy Central for putting so many funny women in one sitcom. Sadly, though, the jokes in this first episode are often as weak as Marilyn's work ethic.

Claire Webb, Radio Times, 14th October 2014

John Kearns Shtick's around for second solo show

"It's the minutiae of the detail that really sets John apart; he manages to say so much with so little."

Sara Shulman, Ticketmaster, 14th October 2014

Enter The Tone Zone, 10th October 2014

Tony Law bounds onto the stage over an hour late, dressed in a black lycra catsuit and armed with a trombone. It's what we have all learned to expect by now.

Becca Moody, Moody Comedy, 14th October 2014

Is storytelling the new comedy?

Comedy clubs in the UK are said to be on the decline. But storytelling is teetering on the brink of the possibility of becoming the new comedy.

John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 14th October 2014

Interview with Twayna Mayne

Q&A with stand-up Twayna Mayne.

Comedy Blogedy, 14th October 2014

Sara Pascoe interview: We need to understand our urges!

Sara Pascoe talks monkey sex, aggressive sperm - and being the only woman on TV panel shows.

Steven MacKenzie, The Big Issue, 14th October 2014

Maxine Peake confirmed as Women In Comedy patron

Maxine Peake has been confirmed as Patron of the Women in Comedy Festival, which opened in Manchester over the weekend. On her appointment, Peake commented, "I'm proud to be supporting the UK Women in Comedy Festival as a patron. A festival filled with laughter combined with feminist principles taking place in the North ... what's not to support!"

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 14th October 2014

Comedy Benevolent fund launches website

The Comedy Support Act has launched its website. The organisation is a benevolent fund to help comics who through serious illness or accident find themselves in financial hardship.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 14th October 2014

Kerry Howard interview

Him & Her alumnus Kerry Howard talks female led comedy, awful jobs and playing weirdos.

Ellie Walker-Arnott, Radio Times, 14th October 2014

Avenue Q to return for another national tour in 2015

Avenue Q will return to the UK next year with another national tour.

The Stage, 14th October 2014

Apple calls on IT Crowd for UK iPhone 6 adverts

Apple has remade its latest two commercials for the UK, eradicating Americans Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake, and replacing them with IT Crowd comedy legends Richard Ayoade and Chris O'Dowd.

Craig Grannell, Stuff.tv, 14th October 2014

Sophie Aldred interview

It was really delightful to meet this crew who are so dedicated to the project and working for very little money to get this project in shape.

Ed Fortune, Starburst Magazine, 14th October 2014

Su Pollard interview

SU Pollard doesn't really need prompting with questions. She's a talker. A pretty darn fast talker. I push my pen across the page as fast as tendons will allow.

North Devon Journal, 14th October 2014

Jonathan Ross interview

The knight errand of nattering returns to Saturday nights with a blistering line-up of guests. He talks to TV Choice about how to put together a chat show for ITV, and the perils of being in the business for so long...

Graham Kibble-White, TV Choice, 14th October 2014

Lee Mack: stand-up or sit down?

The Lancashire joke maestro begins an eight-show stint in London this weekend and his silly sitcom Not Going Out returns to BBC One. So, should you see him in the flesh or on the box? Time Out weighs up whether or not to leave the house.

Ben Williams, Time Out, 14th October 2014

Videos

TV & radio

CBBC logo. Credit: BBC
7:30am
10 min
The Joke Machine. Joke Master (Jarred Christmas). Copyright: Liberty Bell

The Joke Machine

Episode 49

This episode's jokers are Birchgrove and St Edmund's.

Boj. Copyright: Pesky Productions

Boj

Episode 27 - Watch The Birdie

Giggly Park Rangers Boj and Rupa are trying to spot the never-spotted long-legged runner bird. Will they fulfil their - and Commander Cloppity's - dream of spotting one?

Radio 4
6:30pm
30 min
Mark Watson Talks A Bit About Life. Image shows from L to R: Mark Watson, Tim Key, Tom Basden. Copyright: Impatient Productions

Mark Watson Talks A Bit About Life

Series 1, Episode 1 - Success

Mark, Tim and Tom ask how we measure success. They draw on modern definitions of success and decide which ones are worthwhile.

Comedy Central
9:30pm
30 min
Give Out Girls. Image shows from L to R: Debbie (Tracy-Ann Oberman), Andy (Ben Bailey Smith), Steve (Alex Carter), Gemma (Diana Vickers), Marilyn (Kerry Howard), Poppy (Cariad Lloyd), Zoe (Miranda Hennessy). Copyright: Big Talk Productions / Popper Pictures

Give Out Girls

Episode 1 - The Spanish Job

The girls are promoting a new alcoholic drink called Nectarino, and there's an exciting opportunity to head to Spain for some extra work on the project. Marilyn's desperate to go, but gets into an awkward situation when supervisor Alex accuses her of sexual harrassment.

Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish. Dave Gorman

Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish

Series 2, Episode 6 - Dat Is Data Dat Is

Dave considers the appeal of dogging and pokes fun at Lord Sugar's tweets.

BBC Three
10:30pm
30 min
The Revolution Will Be Televised. Image shows from L to R: Jolyon Rubinstein, Heydon Prowse. Copyright: Hat Trick Productions

The Revolution Will Be Televised

Series 3, Episode 2

Dale Maily files a special report from Colorado on legalised cannabis whilst James and Barnaby visit America's 'toughest jail' and witness the world's only female chain gang. Meanwhile, Zam Zmith gets OMG with Blake Lively at the Cannes Film Festival. Back in the UK, Darth Vader seeks advice from Tony Blair.

Radio 4
11pm
30 min
Small Scenes. Image shows from L to R: Daniel Rigby, Cariad Lloyd, Henry Paker, Jessica Ransom, Mike Wozniak. Copyright: BBC

Small Scenes

Series 2, Episode 1

A man uncovers a great Australian conspiracy, and a financial advisor starts a sideline as an assassin's assistant.

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