Fringe Show Spotlight: 10 TV Stars
In the run up to the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we'll be focusing a spotlight on various shows in different categories. First up we bring you a list of probably the ten best-known comedy acts who will be playing the Fringe this year.
Al Murray, in the guise of the Pub Landlord, has two shows at the festival this year. One is a special preview of his One Man, One Guvnor tour, but his main Fringe show will be his Summer Saloon. The shows, which will take place in a tent in Assembly's George Square Gardens, will feature special guests and promise to serve up "comedy, variety and music".
It was at the Edinburgh Fringe that Seb Cardinal and Dustin Demri-Burns - aka sketch act Cardinal Burns - were first spotted by TV producers. They've since gone on to star in two series of their own critically-acclaimed TV sketch show. The duo are returning to the festival this year ahead of a nationwide tour.
Frank Skinner's stand-up tour stops off in Edinburgh for the full month. Playing as part of the Assembly group's festival line-up, Man In A Suit has been described as a show in which the "crown prince of laddism grows up".
Grumpy Jack Dee brings his great new comedy format to the Fringe for a few days towards the end of August. Jack Dee's Help Desk is a show in which the comedian, with the help of a panel of 'experts' (normally other guest comedians), offers advice to audience members.
Most of the newspaper critics will be heading to Assembly Hall on the 1st August this year so they can write about what Jim Davidson has to say in his new show. Titled 'No Further Action', the performances will see the controversial comedian discussing the time he spent going through the Operation Yewtree investigation.
Jimmy Carr will be dropping into The Edinburgh International Conference Centre to perform his latest show Funny Business. This is the type of scheduling that annoys other acts - he'll be taking a large number of potential punters away from smaller shows during his four night run.
This show isn't in the official programme - a demonstration of why you should make us your default Fringe bookmark. Liverpudlian comic John Bishop has picked the intimate Stand venue to warm up some new material.
The Never Mind The Buzzcocks star is promising to "rip out his beating heart and staple it to his sleeve in front of a mesmerised crowd of shocked and delighted fans" in his new show. We hope he means that metaphorically, otherwise it could be a short run. He's also appearing as Porky the Poet in a separate show.
Stewart Lee would probably hate to see himself on a list of 'mainstream' stars sitting alongside the likes of Jimmy Carr, what with liking to think of himself as being 'alternative'. However, as the host of two TV series which are both set to return to screens (Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle and The Alternative Comedy Experience), he definitely qualifies in our book as a TV star.
We're gutted Tim Vine isn't bringing back his improvised audience chat show format to the festival again this year as it's always such a huge laugh. However, with that chimney-sweep photo and the title Timtiminee Timtiminee Tim Tim To You we know we'll be in for some solid entertainment from the punmeister once again.
Other faces familiar from TV panel shows, sitcoms and stand-up platforms appearing at the festival include Andrew Maxwell, Arthur Smith, Chris Ramsey, Daniel Sloss, Henning Wehn, Jason Byrne, Jason Cook, Josie Long, Katherine Ryan, Mark Watson, Nick Helm, Nina Conti, Robert Lewellyn, Romesh Ranganathan, Sara Pascoe, Seann Walsh, Shappi Khorsandi, Susan Calman, Tom Rosenthal and Paul Chowdhry.