Radio Times review

Hal Cruttenden is one of those nicely dressed middle-class comedians that you assume will skip through a cosy routine about school runs in the 4x4 and posh supermarkets. Instead he starts off with some alarming gags about why Santa Claus and the tooth fairy are scary. "I want to be a political comic but I can't be bothered to do the reading," he adds before launching into a distinctly political tirade that touches on the NHS, pensions and Iraq.

Also on the bill are Mancunian Justin Moorhouse, who gets some laughs out of his northern origins and Canadian Tom Stade, who says some pretty harsh things about getting old.

Radio Times review

Hal Cruttenden is unashamedly middle-class, which makes his humour a perfect match for Radio 4. There's even a telling reference to this in his new sitcom about a stay-at-home dad, where he advises his children that while being middle-class is definitely "the best", they should not tell their school chums because it will make them sound vulgar.

It's tough to make an impact in the first episode of a new sitcom, but I laughed out loud, several times, and the supporting cast, including Ed Byrne and Ronni Ancona, is top-notch.

Review - Hal Cruttenden: Tough Luvvie

Because of this ability to find a wickedly funny line about so many subjects, Cruttenden has very wide audience appeal - tonight's audience ranges from 14 to 70-plus.

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Hal Cruttenden, Richard Herring and Rob Delaney.

Hal Cruttenden on the problem with holidays

With the threat of air disasters, shark attacks and the many perils of the pedalo cruise, travelling with the family is one of the most stressful things you can do.

Hal Cruttenden interview

I caught up with Hal Cruttenden last week to talk about, amongst many things, his Tough Luvvie show, which is touring the UK until June 2014, and his first sitcom - Hal - for Radio 4.

Comedians take apart their comedy routines

Where do jokes come from? And how do they change in the telling? Three standups - Hal Cruttenden, Kurt Braunohler and Kerry Godliman - dissect their acts...

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Hal Cruttenden, Stewart Lee and Frank Skinner.

Review: Hal Cruttenden, Udderbelly

Occasionally the material appears shoehorned in but there is no shortage of laughs, whether discussing the north/south divide, infuriatingly inane Facebook updates or his food fixation.

Review: Hal Cruttenden, Udderbelly

This time I was blown away. The writing felt sharper, the performance was bigger and it probably helped that the venue was much nicer.