BCG Daily Friday 16th January 2015

Radio Times review

From the tweaked title sequence alone you'll notice there's been a major cast shake-up. Last week, we bid a poignant adios to the Garveys, and in their place there's a welcome return for Elsie Kelly as daffy Noreen (who had to miss the last series) and for Johnny Vegas, last seen five years ago as her son, Geoff, aka "the Oracle". An inveterate quiz-champ, he's in an especially obnoxious temper.

Clive's ultra-crude sister Terri also shows up and gets the hots for Mateo after he flattens her with a lemon, while Joyce demands Botox treatment from Kenneth - and lives to regret it. This cartoonish episode is almost a return to vintage form.

Radio Times review

Ray Mears walks straight into Frank Skinner's comedy trap when he suggests that fakes should be consigned to Room 101. He always wants to have the real thing. "I agree. We tried to get Bear Grylls rather than you. But he cost ten grand!" is Skinner's response.

Ray brings a certain gravitas to the show, while fellow panellists Fiona Bruce and Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan keep it light. Actually, Ryan has some extraordinary dance moves and even more unusual pet peeves. She believes nappies should only be available on prescription, and that Cheryl Fernandez-Versini is not only part of a government conspiracy but also a robot.

Radio Times review

Here's the kind of knowledge-nugget many QI fans might appreciate. Tonight, Stephen Fry offers a scientific explanation for the phenomenon of walking into a room, then forgetting why you went there. It's not just brain decay, he reassures us, but a possible hangover from our evolutionary past, whereby crossing a threshold, moving from one environment to another, in some way resets our mental state.

Now where was I? Oh yes, so also on the show are Jimmy Carr, who, love him or loathe him, is on flying form, Suggs and Claudia O'Doherty, as well as the very QI line: "I can't believe you're being so blasé about this Stephen - you've killed a unicorn."

Idil Sukan interview

Idil Sukan knows comedy. Although arguably best known for her photographs of comedians, she has also produced comedy shows, designed visual marketing for live comedy and written/performed stand up herself.

Adam Deacon in the dock

Adam Deacon arrives at court facing charges of harassing Adulthood director Noel Clarke.

Bristol Slapstick Festival: Highlights to look out for

Bristol's Slapstick Festival is back, boasting an eclectic, hilarious and star-studded programme of classic silent comedy and live entertainment.

Graham Linehan interview

'On the streets, Twitter trolls would be considered sociopaths'.

Sara Pascoe: 'All comedy has a victim'

Unfortunately, regardless of how female comedians present themselves, a problem persists in the way many male comedians present women, as victims of jokes; "If a man has been talking about how funny vaginas are for 20 minutes, and then you go on, there's an embarrassment".

Want to keep your marbles? Move into a smaller flat

An episode of the television quiz QI has suggested an evolutionary explanation for why crossing a threshold makes you lose your thread.

Phill Jupitus joins UK tour of The Producers

Phill Jupitus and David Bedella have joined the UK tour of The Producers.

Joke candidates: comedians who stood in elections

As Al Murray announces his tongue-in-cheek, pint-in-hand bid to become MP for Thanet South in Kent, we look at some other comedians with political ambition from Britain and around the world.

Johnny Vegas's favourite TV

The Benidorm and Still Open All Hours star on his property TV obsession and how he's preparing for the zombie apocalypse by watching The Walking Dead.

Al Murray talks about Thanet South and the election

"Before I get started I'd just like to say thank you for the chance to talk to the paper. It has been quite a busy couple of days and I've been getting to grips not only with where South Thanet actually is, but the shocking news that Nigel Farage is running for Parliament there too."

Why are comedy press shots always so dull?

Great comedy dazzles. It up-ends expectations. It twists and turns, leaves us breathless. Huge leaps of imagination make rooms erupt with laughter, sides split, bellies laugh and guffs-haw. So, with all this creativity and genius abounding - why can any of that not translate into the comedians shop window - the publicity photo?

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Aisling Bea, Jerry Sadowitz and the Slapstick Festival.

'Del Boy' sheepskin firm Nursey closes after 169 years

A sheepskin clothing firm that clothed Del Boy in television's Only Fools & Horses, is closing for good after 169 years because of falling trade.

News: Midlands Comedy Awards full results

Birmingham comedian Andy Robinson beat stiff competition to be voted Best Act and Best Compere of 2014 at the Midlands Comedy Awards. The Glee Club was awarded Best Club, while Nottingham's Fowl Humour was given the prize for Best Open Mic Show.

Pub Landlord v Farage: a humane way to out-Ukip Ukip

Al Murray is bringing a brilliantly bonkers form of satire to the election campaign.

Comedy review: Robin Ince, Edinburgh

If Robin Ince really means what he says about taking a five-year sabbatical from touring, then the science-loving stand-up certainly went out with a big bang.

Mat Ricardo interview

A juggler and comedian, Mat Ricardo started out nearly 28 years ago as a street performer in Covent Garden, busking alongside the likes of Eddie Izzard. His professional act, Showman, bears the tagline: "Fast hands. Smart mouth. Nice suit".

TV preview: Catastrophe, C4

Channel 4's new sitcom Catastrophe starts with a bang. Not the nuclear variety as in ITV2's Cockroaches though. Here the bang is the sex between the two characters Sharon and Rob (Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney) who have just met in a bar. It's a fast and furious shag and one of many that punctuates the hilarious first episode.

Ryan Sampson wants Rosamund Hanson in Plebs

The 29-year-old actor is keen for the 25-year-old star, who is known for her role as Smell in film and TV series This Is England, to play his alter-ego's sibling in the ITV2 comedy and is also hoping the hapless slave gets a romantic interest if the show gets recommissioned for a third series.

How I miss Men Behaving Badly, and why you should too

Caroline Quentin thinks the nineties show which made her name would never be commissioned today. Katy Brand wholeheartedly disagrees and explains why we need its booze, burps and boobs more than ever.

Why I killed off lesbian character

Sally Wainwright explains her decision to kill off Kate McKenzie-Dawson, played by Nina Sosanya.