Harry Hill

Comedian Harry Hill returns to cast a satirical eye over the past week's television in the eighth series of his Bafta award-winning clip-show. A ratings winner, with more than 7 million viewers typically tuning in for the last series, TV Burp is sticking to its successful format. So expect the soaps to bear the brunt of the lampooning, as well as surreal mock fights between two TV characters.

Saints be praised, Harry Hill is back for a mammoth run, and this swells my heart with pleasure at the belly laughs ahead. Hill has mined a rich seam of comedy to poke some gentle fun at the medium that is the preoccupation of a nation. All the usual silliness is there, and of course, Bear Grylls, will no doubt be in the firing line. Brilliant, sublime stuff!

Sketch shows often claim proudly to be 'irreverent' or 'taboo-breaking': The Kevin Bishop Show is the real thing. The easily offended had better give a wide berth to Bishop's spoof of a BBC3-style Songs of Praise and should definitely avoid the filthy take on Waking the Dead that closes tonight's show. Both are wince-makingly funny, though, and that's the thing: Bishop occasionally crosses the line into the outright tasteless, but he's funny enough and sweet-faced enough the rest of the time that we can forgive him. Among other highlights this week are a good running joke on Ross Kemp's hard-nut documentaries, a gay R&B singer and an inspired impression of Harry Hill in his early days as a doctor.

ITV to air Harry Hill soap spoof

Hill will play a pub landlord called Arthur Buttons in the new show, and has made a pilot co-starring Liza Tarbuck (as his mum), Mark Benton and Kate Robbins. It has now been commissioned for a series.

Call me crazy ... but isn't the best children's TV being made now?

I loved Harry Hill's Shark Infested Custard and Gina Yashere's Gina's Laughing Gear. I set my Sky+ for David Schneider (The Day Today) as Uncle Max, or Marcus Brigstocke as King Stupid, which was simply Blackadder with added gunge. The fact is that some of the sharpest writers in Britain had a turn penning CITV's My Parents Are Aliens, and I don't know a child under five who isn't beguiled by Charlie and Lola. Kids TV today, when made properly, can be wonderful.

Harry Hill to pen spoof soap for ITV1

Comedian Harry Hill is to write an ITV1 pilot for a spoof soap featuring Darren Day as a love-rat landlord and Just Good Friends star Jan Francis as his mum.

An unusual thing about An Audience With Harry Hill (ITV1, Saturday) was that half the audience clearly adored him and half sat stony-faced. They were often the same couple, which must have led to some strained silences in the car going home.

Harry Hill's TV Burp (ITV1), a teasing review of the week's worst TV, is made too close to transmission for review, but I heartily recommend it on the basis of last week's show. Not only funny, madam, but posh. Where else would you find conundra flung casually into the conversation? I never knew till now that two conundrums were a conundra.