Writers' Guild Awards 2013 shortlists

Nominations for Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine, Joanna Scanlan, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Stefan Golaszewski, Susan Calman, Sanjeev Kohli, Donald McLeary, David Sedaris, Alice Lowe and Steve Oram.

It's no secret that many alleged "grown-ups" are supplementing their haphazard history educations with CBBC's Horrible Histories, back for its fifth series with lovely, daft input from The League of Gentlemen. Tiny, mighty Sarah Hadland from Miranda and funny, clever Alice Lowe, writer of Sightseers are regular faces too. To adult eyes, Horrible Histories has the distinct feel of a group of bright, young, erudite, writery-actory sparks having a tremendously good time. One that they probably wouldn't be permitted to have anywhere else on telly.

Kids love them as they are the most peculiar sort of grown-ups. The sort of wonky uncles and aunties who turn up to tea with mild hangovers, scant regard for etiquette and a host of stories about idiot highway men, Second World War bat bombs (bombs attached to bats, prone to exploding before they left the American base) and an imaginary CD compilation called Now That's What I Call Spartan Warrior Music.

There's something about the Horrible Histories gang I find terrifically, stupidly, funny. They're the best bits of Monty Python, Roald Dahl, Tiswas, BBC2's The Tudors and The Young Ones all shoved into a bin and bashed with a stick. "Divorced, beheaded and Died! Divorced, Beheaded, Survived!" is the song that carousels in my mind whenever anyone mentions Henry VIII. Horrible Histories drummed the order of Henry's wives and their fates into my mind where A-level cramming failed forlornly. If only Mathew Baynton and Ben Willbond had shown up at my school in the Nineties and sung a few songs about the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, I could have a proper job now. Not just writing down stuff I think, drinking Earl Grey and taking Yodel deliveries in for neighbours.

Alice Lowe on sex, serial killers and sexism in comedy

Alice Lowe shone as a killer caravanner in dark comedy Sightseers. But the London Evening Standard Film Awards nominee is bracing herself for an even more twisted and embarrassing film role.

Evening Standard Film Award nominations for Sightseers

Sightseers has picked up a nomination for the Film of the Year, Alice Lowe was also listed for Best Actress & director Ben Wheatley is up for The Peter Sellers Comedy Award.

Women in comedy: there's quite a few of them now

From Alice Lowe's much-touted role in Sightseers to Sarah Millican's flagship position for comedy on BBC Two, every woman on the list seems to have risen to a place in the industry better reflecting their talents.

Sightseers: Film review

This should make stars of Steve Oram and Alice Lowe - previously best known for her work on Garth Marenghi's Darkplace - but for a debut, it's their writing that's intriguing. Even though it's slightly flawed, it has to a contender for the best British comedy film of the year.

Video: World exclusive trailer for Sightseers

Watch the trailer for the new film from Ben Wheatley, director of Down Terrace and Kill List, who returns with another black comedy. Chris (Steve Oram) is treating his girlfriend, Tina (Alice Lowe) to a caravan tour of the British countryside. It's their dream short break, until other holiday-makers start to jangle Chris's nerves...

Although the pilot was a BBC affair, this new comedy series arrives on Sky. Created by and starring comedians/music video directors Chris Bran and Justin Chubb, it's set on the isolated fictional isle of Jinsy. It's all about silly situations and funny wordplay, more like The Goons and Stanley Unwin than Little Britain. Its good supporting cast includes Alice Lowe (Darkplace), Harry Hill and even David Tennant.

The one we're really looking forward to is the Horrible Histories Christmas Special, featuring the likes of Simon Farnaby and Alice Lowe. Here be sketches about real-life oddities such as "Roland the Farter", a jester employed by King Henry II on Christmas day to maketh a noyse like a duck from his bottom parts.

We were rather taken with this spoof documentary pilot, which was written by and stars Alice Lowe off Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh. Skits from the collection of tragic true-life stories include The Man Who Has a Thousand Wives and a woman whose life has been ruined by the thought of bumping into Boy George.