Jimmy Carr on Stephen Hawking getting drunk at parties

Jimmy Carr has revealed he turned Harry Styles and Professor Stephen Hawking into unlikely drinking buddies at one of his wild showbiz house parties.

Preview - The Jonathan Ross Show

Jonathan Ross returns with his ITV chat show inviting Hollywood stars, famous sporting names and music stars to take a seat on his sofa.

Jack Whitehall dresses up as Harry Styles

Jack Whitehall embraced his inner pop star as he hosted this year's Royal Variety Performance. The comedian transformed into Harry Styles and joined boy band One Direction on stage at the Royal Albert Hall.

Murder in Successville is ridiculous. Each week it takes a real-life celebrity, and places them in the middle of a fictional murder mystery, which they must help to solve. Successville, where these crimes take place, is populated by celebrities doing ordinary jobs, only these "celebrities" are impressionists doing their versions of those celebrities doing ordinary jobs. It's part sketch show, part structured reality show and part quiz show. Its jokes are largely crude and scatological. Everyone is on the verge of laughter throughout.

In the opening episode, the celebrity stooge is Jamie Laing from Made in Chelsea. I've never seen Made in Chelsea, so he well could have been the impressionist's version of Jamie Laing, though a passing colleague saw him on my screen, confirmed it was the real Jamie Laing and declared him to be "the worst". Laing plays a rookie cop tasked with cracking the murder of Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli, who, in Successville, is a chef married to chief suspect Darcy Bussell. Neither are played by themselves. Local gangsters Alan Carr and Harry Styles are not themselves, either. Nor, disappointingly, is ballistics expert Taylor Swift actually played by Taylor Swift.

This is a very, very silly show. For the first half I was torn between feeling extremely pleased something so anarchic and daft had been commissioned by the BBC in the first place, and willing it to be just that little bit funnier, and less reliant on jokes about bumming. But eventually, it got me. Laing gamely plays along as he is directed towards increasingly absurd situations, such as interrogating Alan Carr's underworld "sister" Jimmy Carr, who communicates only in that seal-bark laugh.

If Laing really is a villain in Made in Chelsea, then Murder in Successville is a remarkable act of rehabilitation for him. He just can't stop giggling, and it's helplessly contagious. This is the same silly joy that comes from sitcom blooper reels, or performers corpsing during live comedy, or trying not to laugh when you're getting told off. It's not particularly sophisticated, but it is surprisingly charming, and perhaps some of those remaining BBC Three-on-TV viewers might have stumbled across it and been charmed by it, too.

The flashy sports quiz show has pulled off a serious coup this week: One Direction are in the studio. Well, three of the perky quintet at any rate. Niall and Louis enjoyed themselves immensely. Harry Styles seemed less impressed by the Freddie Flintoff-led ribbing.

The much-publicised scene of Niall getting a "tattoo" of James Corden's face on his bottom shows the level of changing-room humour we're dealing with - but Corden keeps it sweet with the genuine affection he displays for the show. The highlight of the night sees Spandau Ballet leading man Tony Hadley take part in a penalty shootout against Harry in goal. Did the young starlet ever consider this ageing pop star could be a vision of his future?

I can't imagine there's usually much crossover between this sporty panel show and the One Direction fanbase. But don't be surprised to see a massive spike in Sky's viewing figures with Harry, Niall and Louis joining Jamie Redknapp's team tonight.

The result is one of the most fun hours of TV in ages, with enough unexpected outbreaks of bromance to fuel an entire library of feverish homo-erotic 1D fan fiction. The tattoo on Niall's bum - applied live in the studio by an exultant James Corden - is only the start of things.

One of the funniest aspects of the show is how genuinely delighted Jamie Redknapp is to be part of a boyband for the night, although there'll be endless rewinding of the banter between Harry and Freddie Flintoff to try to work out whether Harry is pleased to be there or not.

Sport does, occasionally, manage to get a look-in too, and in a basketball-themed night there's a group of young men who are even more amazing than One Direction themselves. If you've previously seen the acrobatic slam-dunkers known as the Face Team on A Question of Sport, you'll know they're truly astounding.

But it's the return of Pop Star Penalties which provides a historic encounter between Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley and Harry Styles in goal. It's a round they might have rechristened, One Day, Lad, This'll Be You.

Review: Russell Howard's Good News, BBC3

Good News has tapped into the teenage/youthy TV-viewing market with a vengeance that would almost, though not quite, make Harry Styles envious.

Charlie Brooker: That's yer Thatcher Ding Dong

Maggie Thatcher died. Git-haired One Direction sex minnow Harry Styles hastily tweeted an RIP, prompting many of his fans to wonder aloud just who this "Thatcher" person was, much to the amusement of onlookers not quite smart enough to understand how time works.

Russell Brand challenges Harry Styles to 'sex war'

They're both serial womanisers, so it's no wonder Russell Brand is worried about Harry Styles wading in on his turf with the ladies. The funnyman has warned the One Direction singer off older women, saying if he continues, he'll be forced to declare an 'intergenerational sex war' with Harry.