Weekly Newsletter |
Monday 20th September 2021 |
We are sad to report on the death of John Challis, but hopefully you'll find some things to smile about elsewhere in this week's newsletter.
Latest comedy news
Tom Basden's sitcom Pandemonium ordered by BBC
Plebs creator Tom Basden has landed a BBC One sitcom. Production is underway on six 30-minute episodes of Pandemonium, following on from a successful pilot that aired at Christmas.
Philomena Cunk returns to BBC Two
Philomena Cunk is returning to BBC Two for Cunk On Earth, a series investigating science and technology.
Only Fools And Horses star John Challis dies aged 79
Actor and Only Fools And Horses icon John Challis has died at the age of 79. He died in his sleep over the weekend, after a long battle with cancer.
Geoff Norcott turns 'agony uncle' for Radio 4's Never Kissed A Tory
Geoff Norcott has landed a Radio 4 show in which he plays "agony uncle" to disaffected people whose political opinions have made them unpopular with friends and family. Never Kissed A Tory will see the right-wing comic and guest comedians discuss the problems of people who've crossed "tribal faultlines in the culture war".
Brandon Burke wins BCG Pro Performance Awards 2020
Brandon Burke has won the inaugural BCG Pro Performance Awards 2020 at a live final in central London.
Newsjack axed by the BBC
The BBC has announced that Newsjack, the BBC Radio 4 Extra sketch show format with an open door submission policy, has ended after 24 series. However, a new open door format will be introduced in 2022.
Mark Gatiss amongst Inside No. 9 Series 7 guest stars
Filming is underway on Series 7 of Inside No. 9. Guest stars joining Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith this time will include Mark Gatiss, Daniel Mays, Jessica Hynes, Diane Morgan and Daisy Haggard.
Sara Pascoe to replace Joe Lycett on Great British Sewing Bee
Sara Pascoe has been announced as the new host of The Great British Sewing Bee, replacing Joe Lycett who has decided to leave the show after three series.
Simon Amstell readying mid-life crisis film
Simon Amstell has given the fullest description yet of his semi-autobiographical next film. Focusing on a "deranged" woman in her thirties embarking on an emotional journey, the comic plans to begin work on his third feature when his stand-up tour Spirit Hole conclude.
Mrs Brown's Boys to mark 10th anniversary with Halloween special
Mrs Brown's Boys is to mark its 10th anniversary with a Halloween special, which will be broadcast live.
Advert
London Wonderground has a fantastic line-up of comedy shows until 26 September! Head to Earls Court to see Jess Robinson, Eshaan Akbar, Stamptown, Janine Harouni, Lucy Porter and many more. All information and tickets at londonwonderground.co.uk
Features
Taskmaster - Series 12 interviews
Alan Davies, Desiree Burch, Guz Khan, Morgana Robinson and Victoria Coren Mitchell talk about starring in Series 12 of Taskmaster, whilst Greg Davies and Alex Horne also give their thoughts on the contestants.
Never Mind The Buzzcocks interviews
Greg Davies, Noel Fielding, Daisy May Cooper and Jamali Maddix talk about appearing in the new series of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, which starts tomorrow on Sky Max.
British As Folk interview
As they continue on their mission to compile their very own 'brutally honest' guide to the UK, Ivo Graham, Darren Harriott and Fern Brady explain how the programme British As Folk came about, and what they learned along the way.
Comedy Chronicles: Tony Don't Fall Backwards: Hancock at the Royal Festival Hall
Tony Hancock was one of the most successful comedians of his generation, but a combination of personal problems and increasingly erratic professional decisions turned his 1966 'comeback' at the Royal Festival Hall into an unfortunate night to forget...
Strictly interviews: Judi Love, Nina Wadia, Robert Webb
Judi Love, Nina Wadia and Robert Webb talk about taking part in the 2021 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
First Gig, Worst Gig: The Free Association
Icky moments, sticky walls and an old man becoming a shoe: The Free Association take us back through improvs past.
British Comedy Quiz #171
Do you remember the name of ITV's 2011 stand-up contest? What about Dr Price in Fawlty Towers?
Random 8: Radu Isac
Metro luck, deep toolbox wounds and a weird great-grandma - Radu Isac takes the eight-question challenge.
Podcasts
The Worst Writer duo take an amusing look back at the flaws in the 1980s film Gremlins. Meanwhile Barry Cryer is the guest on RHLSTP With Richard Herring.
TV listings
The Complaints Department
Jason Manford is joined by Sarah Millican, Eshaan Akbar, Suzi Ruffell and Hal Cruttenden for Episode 2 of the new panel show.
Alma's Not Normal
Alma reluctantly takes up the position of 'sandwich artiste' at SubNGo. But after a demeaning trial shift, she decides to try a different career path.
British As Folk
Darren, Fern and Ivo travel to the Valleys to find out what it means to be Welsh today and ask 'Are We Speaking The Same Language?'.
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
After several years off air, the panel show returns - with a new channel and a new host, Greg Davies. Daisy May Cooper is joined by Anne-Marie and Little Mix's Jade Thirlwall whilst Noel Fielding plays with series regular Jamali Maddix and comedian Nish Kumar.
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
Andy Field, Geoff Lloyd, Lou Sanders and Guz Khan keep Alan Davies and the audience entertained with revelations ranging from pill popping to party pooping, and mini mistakes with mega consequences.
The Holden Girls: Mandy & Myrtle
Amanda and Myrtle embark on a disastrous mini break. In the second of the episodes a rejuvenated Myrtle embarks on her bucket list and decides to track down her childhood sweetheart.
Rhod Gilbert's Growing Pains
Jimmy Carr, Martin Kemp and Charlie George share their embarrassing teenage lives with host Rhod Gilbert.
Code 404
Major's mood swings are getting out of hand. He and Carver are given the task of supplying Cleasby with a new identity under witness protection.
Joe Lycett's Got Your Back
Kirsty Wark joins Joe as he annoys the boss of Samuel Smiths pubs. The team also take on Sports Direct over a broken bike and comedian Joanne McNally investigates greenwashing in fashion.
A League Of Their Own
Professional golfer Andrew 'Beef' Johnston, former Olympic gold medal heptathlete and TV presenter Denise Lewis, plus comedians Josh Widdicombe, Jimmy Carr and Kerry Godliman check out the lads' attempts at canoeing and partake in a game of human crazy golf.
Taskmaster
Series 12. Greg and Alex welcome Alan Davies, Desiree Burch, Guz Khan, Morgana Robinson and Victoria Coren Mitchell with tasks featuring creepers, catapults and one (fake) cactus.
QI
Sandi and Alan are joined with Eshaan Akbar, John Barrowman and Victoria Coren Mitchell to look at all things shaky and shady.
The Russell Howard Hour
As always, Russell will be joined by a bevy of special guests and rising stars from the stand-up circuit. If you don't have Sky, quite a lot of the show ends up on our website as YouTube clips.
The Scotts
Vincent and Vonny's marital issues cause comedic trouble and strife as the Scotts get pulled into their dramatic domestic woes.
Late Night Mash
More topical comedy from Nish Kumar & co. As always, it's too early yet to say what is going to be in the show this week, as they film it close to transmission.
The Cleaner
The third show of the week starring Greg Davies. Wicky has the wrong key for his next job and thus encounters a radical vegan living next door. The confident carnivore in Wicky might just have met his match.
The Last Leg
This topical show show is such a reliable ratings-winner for Channel 4 that the gaps between series get shorter and shorter. It wasn't long ago the trio were on nightly, and how - with barely any time to rest - they're back for another series.
The Graham Norton Show
Series 29 of the comic chat show starts. The stars of James Bond are on the sofa for the opener: Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch and Rami Malek. Plus music from Ed Sheeran.
Spitting Image
Another episode of the puppet-based topical comedy show. We know lots of people don't have BritBox so are missing out on this series, but you can see some clips from previous episodes via our website. If you want to give the service a go, they're currently offering a 7-day free trial, where you can see every episode so far.
Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line-Up
Howard Donald, Arlene Phillips, Omid Djalili and Sally Lindsay must arrange themselves from best to worst correctly to match the order the British public have put them in.
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
Bob and Paul fish for wild carp in Mid Wales, spending their first day at an ancient glacial lake where Bob tries out new gear he is keen to use and hopes will make a difference to his fishing.
The new series starting on Radio 4 this week are What's Funny About... (Wednesday, 11:30am), Njambi McGrath: Becoming Njambi (Wednesday, 11pm), Slow Radio Comedy (Thursday, 11pm) and Jessica Fostekew: Powerhouse (Sunday, 7:15pm). For a complete list of TV and radio broadcasts, including repeats, see our full schedule.
Shop
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The CleanerIt's the cops' job to clean up the city, but it's Wicky's job to clean up the crime scenes. BAFTA-winner Greg Davies writes and stars in this truly arresting comedy for BBC One. Armed with chemicals, scrubbing brushes and cleaning rags, Wicky removes the gruesome mess at the scene of the crime. When carrying out his duties, he stumbles across the strangest of people, from the victim's relatives, employers, neighbours and acquaintances to occasionally even the murderers themselves. And because he's a sociable type, he sometimes gossips more than he cleans... |
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Richard Herring's Would You Rather?The perfect boredom-busting book for long winter evenings with the family, Richard Herring's Would You Rather? is packed with hundreds of the biggest questions to face us all, including: The questions will have the whole family, whether 6 or 106, debating on car journeys and train journeys, or stuck in on wet days during the school holidays, and will keep you entertained around the table at Christmas lunch (or when you're falling asleep after Christmas lunch...). Fun, family-friendly and often completely bonkers, this book is "a perfect gift as well as a game". |
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Bridget Christie - A BBC Radio 4 Stand-Up Comedy CollectionThe collected radio shows of award-winning stand-up comedian Bridget Christie. In Bridget Christie Minds The Gap, she gives us her personal take on feminism, asking why it became a dirty word and whether women still need it, with the help of token man Fred MacAulay. Bridget Christie's Utopia sees her embarking on a comic quest for her Shangri-La. Worried about world events, she explores political disengagement, spirituality, a new life in the country and being mega-rich. And in Bridget Christie: Mortal, recorded from her home during lockdown, she turns her attention to the metaphysical questions we all spend our life avoiding (while being interrupted by cats, chores, children and her own dead self from beyond the grave). Do twins share a soul, or do they get one each? How do you live in the moment? And who's blocked the toilet again? |
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Clark Collis - You've Got Red On You: How Shaun Of The Dead Was Brought To LifeHow did a low-budget British movie about Londoners battling zombies in a pub become a beloved global pop culture phenomenon? You've Got Red On You details the previously untold story of 2004's Shaun Of The Dead, the "hilarious, terrifying horror-comedy" whose fan base continues to grow and grow. After consulting dozens of the people involved in the creation of the film, author Clark Collis reveals how a group of friends overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to make a movie that would take bites out of both the UK and the US box office before ascending to the status of bona fide comedy classic. Featuring in-depth interviews with director Edgar Wright, producer Nira Park, and cast members Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Bill Nighy, Lucy Davis, and Coldplay singer Chris Martin, the book also boasts a treasure trove of storyboards, rare behind-the-scenes photos, and commentary from famous fans of the movie, including filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth, Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero, and World War Z author Max Brooks. |
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Little Blighty On The DownAll five series of the political, satirical soap opera set in the strangely familiar village of Little Blighty. Little Blighty is an idyllic part of the world, with a church, a market, a small school and a pub, The Cock and Bull. Village life is pretty uneventful, though the humdrum happenings include social turmoil, economic upheaval and vicious political squabbles - all presided over by the redoubtable head of the Parish Council and secretary of the Rotarians, Mrs Roberts. This formidable lady has been running things for nine years: despite the best efforts of the leader of the opposition, Working Men's Club chairman Mr Blandish. He's desperate for his members to present a united front against Mrs Roberts, but unfortunately they're too busy fighting amongst themselves. The doctor's surgery is overcrowded, the river's polluted, the school is fiddling the exam results and the local market's under threat from cheap imports, but nothing seems to dent Mrs Roberts' popularity - until she introduces a conveyance charge across the village bridge. Could the 'Toll Tax' finally be her downfall? |
For more, see our full list of new releases and items coming soon.
Comedy videos
Trying To Socialise Post Lockdown - BCG Pro Video Contest winner
Holly Hall's sketch, focusing on the difficulty of getting back in touch with your mates now lockdown is over, has won our latest BCG Pro Video Contest competition. Check it out.
Flaps - How To Be A Boss Bitch
Creating kweens is a cutthroat industry, but someone has to do it. Kat and Kyle show off their questionable skills as they re-brand successful women as Boss Bitches.
The World's Worst Bike Thief
Why plan a bike robbery if you can't even ride one? A sketch by Dafties TV.
Wedlock
An action-packed short film. Somewhere in the English countryside one man drives as if his life depends on it, while one woman steps down the aisle on the biggest day of her life. Both speeding towards a future destined to collide.
The Obscure Life Of The Grand Duke Of Corsica - Trailer
A cantankerous and brilliant architect, Alfred Rott, embarks upon a highly unusual commission for an eccentric billionaire in Malta who calls himself the 'Grand Duke of Corsica'. A deadly malaria epidemic sweeps the island causing panic, but Alfred remains to finish the job.
Ghosts - Series 3 Bloopers
Missing Ghosts? Here are some outtakes from the recent third series to keep you laughing.
Spotlight
Girls On Top
Written by and starring Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Ruby Wax,and also featuring Tracey Ullman and silver screen icon Joan Greenwood, is this two-series sitcom from the mid-80s. Described by one historian as a female version of The Young Ones, it sees a very mismatched group of females come together in order to afford the rent on a London flat. Amongst them are a glamorous American wannabe actress, an ardent marxist, and a brazen tart. Meanwhile their landlady, the increasingly dotty aristocratic novelist Lady Carlton, lives downstairs. Both series were released on DVD in 2007 and although now deleted, second-hand copies are available.
Thanks for reading
Chris Douch has won the latest BCG Pro Gag-a-Week competition on the topic of "musicals":
I don't like musicals, they're just a load of trash. Then again... I've only ever seen Stomp.
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British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk
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