BCG Daily Saturday 9th January 2016

Yes, Prime Minister: Still true to life after 30 years?

Jim Hacker's weekly battles with Cabinet Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, were comedy, but talking to those who were in Whitehall and Westminster at the time, it sometimes seemed more like a fly-on-the -wall documentary.

Bernie Clifton to audition in new series of The Voice

Veteran entertainer Bernie Clifton says he auditioned for BBC One show The Voice in a bid to show there was "more to me than the ostrich".

Eddie Izzard interview

The comedian wants to pursue a parliamentary seat in 2020 - but what exactly is his vision?

Fresh Meat cast offer their characters career guidance

As the superior student sitcom enters its final series, we gather together the show's stars to offer their characters some career guidance.

Benidorm Series 8 preview

Benidorm is back for more bawdy fun in the sun with the Solana guests and staff.

Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival Preview Show

The most memorable moment of the Leicester Comedy Festival preview show might have been a cock-up, but that doesn't mean the show was a flop.

Radio Times review

Still Open All Hours is one of those comedies that lasts just 30 minutes, yet by the end of the episode you swear you've just lost three hours.

Maybe it's something to do with the leisurely/laboured comedy business and the well-signalled slapstick, tonight involving a gag with a vacuum cleaner than anyone born before 1960 could see coming from 30 miles away in a North Sea fog.

But never mind, a gentle, unexamined life potters on inside that corner shop on an unspecified street in an unspecified era, as wily owner Granville (David Jason) takes delivery of a parcel from North Korea and tries to fix up hopeless Gastric with a date.

Radio Times review

Benidorm is ailing. I speak as one who loved the earlier series but, as the eighth opens, it can barely crank out an ounce of credibility in the storylines, let alone a decent laugh. The Garveys are gone and with them any clout Steve Pemberton, Sheila Reid and Siobhan Finneran brought to the show (although Reid will be back for a guest spot).

A new family, the Dawsons (headed by a shrill Julie Graham), make little impact, while Joyce (Sherrie Hewson) seriously considers hiring the deeply unsavoury Marcus (Robin Askwith).

On a positive note, Jacqueline gives her late hubby Donald a touching send-off, aided by hairdresser Troy (Paul Bazely, returning after four years away).

Radio Times review

If you've been missing Dermot O'Leary since he left The X Factor you'll be glad to see him returning to our screens here, where he's in his giggly element as the teams are forced to solve a collection of culinary conundrums.

For example: why do tortoises have such big shells? What would you give a butterfly for a special picnic? What two things can you get from a Kangaroo's nipple? And why would someone eat washing detergent for a multi-course Christmas dinner?

And if nothing else, you'll leave this episode with the unlikely mental image of Stephen Fry struggling to cook a cheap microwave dinner. Now that's food for thought.

Radio Times review

Sue Perkins is stepping out without comedy partner Mel Giedroyc to host a new comedy panel show. And no, we haven't become terrible writers who forget to tell you what the show is called - Insert Name Here is, in fact, a name game. Perkins picks a name - let's say Paul, or even Mary, for example - and two teams captained by Richard Osman and Josh Widdicombe battle it out with as much wit and wisdom about that name, and the famous people who've shared it. Our money's on Team Osman - he has already proven he's a font of Pointless information.

Review: Dave's Leicester comedy festival preview show

The annual curtain-raiser for Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival gives fans a flavour of what they can expect when the festival kicks off in February. Not necessarily the biggest acts, but it is a chance for some of the smaller and medium sized acts to get a taste of a big venue and attract some new fans.