Weekly Newsletter |
Monday 1st March 2021 |
March! Crikey. It's been a very busy week, so let's recap the large number of headlines from the end of February...
Latest comedy news
Finding Alice to return for Series 2
Finding Alice, the new ITV comedy drama starring Keeley Hawes, is to return for a second series.
Comedian panel revealed for BBC One series This Is MY House
Bill Bailey, Judi Love, Jamali Maddix and Emily Atack will act as the regular panel for This Is MY House, a new BBC One entertainment series presented by Stacey Dooley.
Guessable to return for second series
Sara Pascoe is returning to host a second series of Guessable on Comedy Central. John Kearns, Alan Davies and Darren Harriott will also reprise their roles in 12 more episodes.
Leicester Comedy Festival 2021 Awards nominees
The nominees have been announced for the Leicester Comedy Festival Awards 2021. Nominees include Tim Key, Esther Manito, Stuart Laws and Fin Taylor.
BBC Two's Funny Festival Live line-up revealed
Jason Manford, Jo Brand, Sara Pascoe and Kiri Pritchard-McLean will be amongst the hosts of Funny Festival Live, a nightly BBC Two stand-up series that starts this coming Sunday, 7th March.
Billy Connolly to publish his autobiography in October
Billy Connolly's autobiography is to be published this autumn. Windswept & Interesting will be available from 14th October.
Tom Allen to host Quizness on Channel 4
Tom Allen is to host a Quizness, a Channel 4 game show that is described as "funny, fast-paced and brilliantly play-alongable".
Phil Wang to publish first book, Sidesplitter
Phil Wang is to publish his first book, memoir Sidesplitter: How To Be From Two Worlds At Once, with Hodder Studio in September. It will explore his experience of life with mixed cultural heritage.
BBC Three commissions PRU, Zen School Of Motoring & shorts
The BBC has announced a number of comedy commissions for BBC Three, including a series from new comic talent Ogmios, and a full series of PRU, which launches as a pilot on iPlayer tomorrow.
Features
PRU cast interview
The cast of new sitcom PRU talk about filming the comedy, and the lockdown casting process they had to go through.
Tim Downie - Hapless interview
Tim Downie chats about the sitcom Hapless, which is now on My5. You may have caught it on Amazon last year under the title The Jewish Enquirer - it's a very good laugh.
Comedy Rewind: Step into the surreal with Vic Reeves Big Night Out
It's time to step into the early 1990s and the mad comedy of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's cult-hit spoof variety show, Vic Reeves Big Night Out.
Sitcoms and the power of pathos
As Channel 4's Back concludes with a poignant episode, we look at the power of pathos in the TV sitcom.
20 years of Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps
Did you miss our brand new Two Pints sketch on Friday? Marking 20 years of the sitcom, creator Susan Nickson penned us a special new scene with Jonny and Gaz, and wrote exclusively about the series.
First Gig, Worst Gig: Catherine Bohart
Her online festival GigFest launches this March, but how did Catherine Bohart cause live cop-on-cop action?
British Comedy Quiz #142
This week's quiz topics include Harry Enfield, Benidorm, Gimme Gimme Gimme and John Oliver. How many of the questions can you get right?
Random 8: Marny Godden
Kate Bush, Beethoven and a live replica of Robert Smith - Marny Godden takes a musical trip through our weekly test.
A taste of Toast Of Tinseltown
Director Michael Cumming on the return of Steven Toast - plus Sandylands updates, and Toast fan Stewart Lee chips in, too.
BCG Pro
If you're writing for Newsjack, the BBC radio show that anyone can submit jokes to, you'll find various features on our website for those who make comedy to help you. Our latest article is on the topic of cutting your sketches down.
TV listings
Would I Lie To You?
Rob Brydon and captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack welcome Johnny Vegas, Alex Jones, Martin Lewis and Anna Maxwell-Martin to take part in this week's episode.
The Stand Up Sketch Show
Routines by comedians including Huge Davies, Felicity Ward, Kemah Bob, Alfie Brown, Bobby Mair, Suzi Ruffell and Iain Stirling are reconstructed as sketches.
PRU
A sitcom set in a unit for struggling school pupils. This one's just a pilot, but as per our BBC Three story above, a full series has already been ordered.
Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable
Mel Giedroyc and Lou Sanders are joined by Richard Ayoade, Ed Gamble and Sindhu Vee for more outrageous admissions.
Hypothetical
Victoria Coren Mitchell, Joe Sutherland, Maisie Adam and Ed Gamble must think fast as their answers will be ruthlessly interrogated by host Josh Widdicombe and his co-host and arbiter of the Hypotheticals, James Acaster.
Stand Up And Deliver
Just fifteen days after first starting their comedy training, the five celebrities will take to the stage for one last gig. With the audience voting for their winner using the time-tested clapometer, who will have the last laugh and get top billing as the Stand Up And Deliver champion?
Dating No Filter
Will Jay and Candi's curling date be the perfect ice-breaker? Or will someone get the brush off? And when Danielle puts Wayne through his paces at a pole-dancing class, will he graduate from pole-mate to soulmate? Daisy May Cooper & Susan Wokoma, Tom Allen & Suzi Ruffell, Josh Widdicombe & Rosie Jones and Donna Preston & Verona Rose watch on.
Tommy Cooper At The BBC
A brand new documentary airing as part of the BBC's Festival Of Funny. Lenny Henry celebrates Tommy Cooper's work at the corporation.
The Last Leg
This week Adam, Josh and Alex look towards the end of lockdown with the assistance of Joanna Lumley and Nish Kumar.
The Graham Norton Show
Line Of Duty stars Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar will be appearing this Friday, to tease the new series of the cop show. Also: Star Wars' Daisy Ridley; Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston; and Chiwetel Ejiofor. With music from Imelda May.
The Vicar Of Dibley: Inside Out
A new two-hour documentary starring Dawn French and Richard Curtis in a reflective look at one of Britain's favourite sitcoms, The Vicar Of Dibley.
Dave Allen: On Life
Released on VHS in the 1990s, this is the television debut of this compilation of highlights from the much-loved Dave Allen At Large series.
The Ranganation
This weekend Roisin Conaty and Jamie Laing will be beamed into Romesh Ranganathan's studio to chew over the lighter end of the news spectrum.
Funny Festival Live
The aforementioned stand-up showcase begins, airing nightly across next week as a line-up of established and new comedians perform from a covid-safe London location.
As part of the BBC's Festival Of Funny there's various TV shows being repeated too. See our schedule for details. New series starting on Radio 4 this week include Reluctant Persuaders (Tuesday, 6:30pm), Tom Mayhew Is Benefit Scum (Wednesday, 11pm) and For The Love Of Leo (Friday, 11:30am). Meanwhile Radio 2 presents The Delightful Sausage On Staycations (Saturday, 9pm), Tommy Tiernan On: Beards (Saturday, 9:30pm), Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Secret Desires (Sunday, 9pm) and sitcom The Empire (Sunday, 9:30pm).
Shop
 |
Just WilliamDaniel Roche (Outnumbered) stars as William in this delightful 2010 adaptation of Richmal Crompton's timeless Just William stories, by Simon Nye, and re-released on DVD in mid-April. There is only one boy whose irrepressible incorrigibility has delighted children and adults for nearly a century; only one boy who can prick adult pomposity with such satisfying regularity. He reminds us of a time when the country really was the country - a time when children were as free as birds with nothing to feed on but their imaginations - a time when they could leave the house at breakfast and not come home until teatime. His enduring appeal is as fresh today as it has ever been - which is perhaps why he is still making so many of us laugh today - he's Just William. |
 |
Roald & Beatrix: The Tale Of The Curious MouseRoald & Beatrix: The Tale Of The Curious Mouse introduces Harry Tayler as a lonely young Roald Dahl, who sets off on a big adventure to meet his favourite author - Beatrix Potter (Dawn French). Broadcast at Christmas, this acclaimed heart-warming comedy drama tells the story of their real-life meeting and how it inspired a grown-up Dahl to write magical children's books of his own. Co-starring Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman, Bill Bailey, Nick Mohammed and Jessica Hynes, it's out in a few weeks' time on Blu-ray and DVD. |
 |
Restless NativesComprehensively restored and remastered to HD quality, Scottish comedy film Restless Natives makes its Blu-ray debut today, including some great new documentaries about the making of the cult-hit Caledonian feature. The high-def picture is as beautiful as the Scottish scenery, so order your copy today. With few prospects, young Edinburgh residents Will and Ronnie decide to while away their time and earn a little more cash by taking to their motorbike and heading into the Highlands - for a spot of good old-fashioned highway robbery. Soon turning their attention to packed tourist coaches, the pair's notoriety grows exponentially, and they become folk heroes after starting to redistribute some of the stolen cash in the capital's most impoverished neighbourhoods. However, as Will falls in love with one of their victims and Ronnie falls in with some properly hardened career criminals, the two begin to drift apart. Can anything repair their once tight friendship and set them back on the straight and narrow? |
|
Paintball MassacreA group of old school friends go on a paintball trip, miles away from civilisation. But things go horribly wrong when they discover a cold-blooded masked killer is among them. Soon the paint is mixed with blood as they fight to survive their school reunion. Will anyone survive? Paintball Massacre is a new comedy horror film, starring Lee Latchford-Evans from Steps and comedian Katy Brand, providing suspense, gore and a few laughs along the way. |
|
The LadykillersIf you missed out on November's deluxe Collector's Edition release, this classic, internationally acclaimed Ealing Studios comedy feature - starring Peter Sellers, Frankie Howerd, Sir Alec Guinness, Herbert Lom and others - is coming out next month in a regular 4K (UHD) Blu-ray. Promising the same, stunningly restored and remastered version of the 1955 colour film (and heap of special features) as we saw a few months ago but this time without all the deluxe-packaged extras, this comes in a standard Blu-ray case and offers a cheaper way to experience this iconic film as it's never quite been seen before. If you're not familiar with the film, now's the perfect time to indulge: and if you are, you'll know what a treat you're in for with this stunning, ground-up 2020 restoration. |
For more, see our full list of new releases and items coming soon.
Comedy videos
London's last cruiser
Meet Ralf, London's last cruiser. It's the latest sketch from the talented Kyle Eaton.
Comedians watching panel shows they've never been asked to appear on
Some reactions you'll hear from comedians who are watching panel shows they've never been asked to appear on.
Watching Every Old School Cartoon
Alasdair Beckett-King says: "We all remember the adventures of Shamus Flatpaw: Dogtective (1981-1993), right?"
Mother F**king Pep Talk - Jessica Fostekew
Ah the past, that great infinite pool of mistakes, regret and insecurity-ghosts. Who needs it? Jessica Fostekew wants you to just let the past go. In fact, why not just BURN IT.
Katie Pritchard: Self-tape audition for Paddington 3
Katie Pritchard says: "Does anyone know who is casting the role of the marmalade sandwich in Paddington 3 so I can send my tape off to them please? Thank you!"
British woman discovers Drag Race UK
A British housewife discovers Ru Paul's Drag Race UK, without any understanding of the whole Ru Paul / Drag Race universe.
Midsomer Accidents
There's no such thing as a coincidence?
Taskmaster - Series 11 teaser
Taskmaster returns to Channel 4 on Thursday 18th March. There's a little teaser trailer here. Charlotte Ritchie, Jamali Maddix, Lee Mack, Mike Wozniak and Sarah Kendall are the contestants.
Social Life
Social media is awful. A song from Ben Adams, in the style of Parklife.
A Sketch Made Under Difficult Circumstances
Joz Norris explains: "I had a go at making one of those talking-head sketches where both characters are played by the same person, but then my girlfriend broke up with me halfway through filming. Still got it edited together though!"
Spotlight
Curry & Chips
Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan take the lead roles in this 1969 LWT colour sitcom, written by the acclaimed Johnny Speight (Till Death Us Do Part) and based on an original idea of Milligan's. Examining working class race relations right on the factory floor, Sykes stars as foreman and Milligan as his new Irish-Pakistani employee Kevin O'Grady. It's not one for the easily offended as racial epithets roll thick and fast, but as well as some good sitcom laughs, the six-part series explores the fascinating, fluid racial tensions of the time, as well as mulling over cultural and political issues ranging from the Pope and religious teachings through to the monarchy, unions, and membership of the European Economic Community. A complete DVD set is available.
Thanks for reading
Rob Smyth has won the latest BCG Pro Gag-a-Week competition on the topic of "music":
Don't ever damage my German classical composers LP, because if you scratch my Bach, I'll scratch yours.
We've got a new batch of prizes for our monthly competition for BCG Supporters: luxe BCG-branded notebooks. For a chance to win one, do join the gang. There's other perks too: like you see less adverts on the website, and get bonus features (like additional questions in our quiz).
British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk
Join our mailing list