Jim Davidson

A little conservative laughter, please

You may not approve of Jim Davidson, but his new play poses interesting questions about the dearth of rightwing standups.

Jim Davidson launches rant against Bruce Forsyth

Comedian Jim Davidson has branded Bruce Forsyth a "miserable old b*****d", who is kept on by the BBC only to avoid accusations of ageism.

Surest way to kill comedy is pretend we're all the same

Jim Davidson, the unacceptable face of British comedy, is on a truth-and-reconciliation tour with a play he has written in which he co-stars with the black comedian Matt Blaize. Publicising it, he has apologised for any offence he may have caused in the past. John Cleese has recently revealed problems in America he had with a routine in which he tells a joke about the English, Germans, Australians and Americans before turning, to the embarrassment of most audiences, to Mexicans. The presenter of Top Gear, on the other hand, can cheerfully make nasty, unfunny Mexican jokes.

Reconstructing Jim Davidson

Jim Davidson, starring as a bigoted comic in a new play he has written, has apologised for any offence his humour might have caused in the past. So would it be possible for such a controversial figure to make a comeback?

Come Fly With Me Defended... by Jim Davidson

TV viewers have complained that Matt Lucas and David Walliams' new comedy series set in an airport is racist.

Lady-mountain Miranda Hart continued tonight on her cheerfully disgraceful bumble through life, humiliating herself every step of the way as she tried to earn the respect and admiration of her friends and family.

Her sitcom is one in which a lone burp constitutes comedy worthy of a generous burst of canned laughter and the only discernible motif is the main character falling over.

Physical humour has become as unfashionable as Jim Davidson in the world of television comedy and much of Miranda's work comes across as camp and a bit daft.

There were, however, flashes of genuine wit in tonight's episode. On discovering that she had to go to a funeral without knowing who'd died, Miranda remarked that if she didn't know who was in the box, the funeral would 'be like Deal Or No Deal, but with people.'

As usual, the audience took on the part of Miranda's confidante, sympathising with her when her smugly married friends talked to her imitating the voice of their unborn baby and her mother disapproved of her inability to find a boyfriend.

Three or four more (equally ridiculous) storylines followed, one of which culminated in Miranda reading Mein Kampf to a group of small children in a library.

Miranda's fictionalised version of herself is a bit of an oddball and her humour is scatological-bordering-on-low-brow. But perhaps the reason for the sitcom's success is that it's so refreshing to see a woman on television who is a classic clown, without even a hint of grace or poise about her.

Miranda Hart is just one of those naturally funny people and for all this sitcom's silliness, her efforts are a joy to watch.

Few laughs as paper appoints Jim Davidson

Journalists at the Torquay-based Herald Express are not laughing. They are outraged that following a spate of redundancies the paper has taken on a new columnist, the comedian Jim Davidson.

Jim Davidson: I'll keep jokes clean for panto audience

Foul-mouthed comic Jim Davidson has promised to be squeaky clean during his panto run in Scotland.

Jim Davidson aims to turn stand-up on its head

The unreformed arch-enemy of PC comedy has shocked his critics once again - this time by penning a piece of self-satire.

Jim Davidson fined £130 for speeding

Comic Jim Davidson was yesterday fined £130 for speeding even though he claimed he was not driving.