BCG Daily Wednesday 26th November 2014

Interview with comedy director Theo Davies

Q&A with director Theo Davies.

Radio Times review

Do the names Chris Ramsey and Doc Brown ring only the faintest of bells? Then allow me to place tonight's stand-ups for you (alongside compere Jason Manford). Ramsey you'll recognise from his role in BBC Two sitcom Hebburn, where he played aspiring journalist Jack. Doc Brown is an actor, too, and played Bradley Walsh's oppo in Law and Order: UK. (He's also the brother of novelist Zadie Smith.) That's a lot of background info because, to be honest, there are no terribly quotable gags in their routines, but Brown's comedy rap to finish the show is worth seeing.

Radio Times review

Paul Sinha is a bright lad who's becoming well-known for his quiz show appearances. His new Radio 4 series, in which he offers his take on historical events, seems calculated to appeal to Radio Times readers: Sinha deplores people who are uninterested in anything that happened before they were born.

The first show combines two of Sinha's specialist subjects, football and great navigators, and explains why Brazilians and Argentineans can kick a ball with more skill than Brits. It's not uproariously funny. It needs a shot of the off-the-wall observation that distinguishes QI, a television programme on which, for some unaccountable reason, Sinha has never appeared.

But it's undeniably interesting, full of the kind of information that might come in handy for the next pub quiz.

The Spotlight on ... John Hastings

Hey kittens, my name is John, I am a Canadian comedian, podcaster and blockhead from snowy Ottawa, Canada.

Dave Gorman review

An evening with Dave Gorman is still a fun experience but, at least this year, it was not a surprising one.

Review: Ross Noble at Newcastle City Hall

Who else could make remarks about his backdrop being similar to the Ebola virus and still garner laughs all round?

Dara O Briain review

As the show nears its end, he gives a précis of his interaction with the audience during the evening. It's a trick he's been doing for some years now, but it's still an astonishing skill to see done so well as he mines even more jokes out of what has transpired earlier. A master at work.

Video: Paul Merton talks for Just a Minute on Breakfast

For more than 20 years Paul Merton has been keeping us entertained with his quick witted comments and slightly surreal humour. But he describes himself as having been a shy child.

He accepted a Just a Minute challenge from BBC Breakfast the team. His topic - Breakfast.

Russell Brand: schools without libraries are a disgrace

Russell Brand described schools without a library as a "disgrace", and said public libraries closures were driven by a "fundamentalist philosophy of profit", in an entertaining and enthusiastically received Reading Agency Lecture last night (Tuesday 25th November).

Crowdfunding a UK sci-fi comedy movie

Bob Pipe was talking to me about raising money for his feature film project The Day They Came to Suck Out Our Brains!

The Day Today let the air out of TV news

The Day Today is also full of useless graphics. One bar chart meant to prop up a case against the police shows units of undefined "evidence" increasing over the years.