Jo Brand on her Great Wall of Comedy

"Nowadays female comics are not aggressive at all, whereas we felt we had to come up and shake our fists and say, 'Shut up, or you're gettin' it!'"

Eager to know why Manuel from Fawlty Towers had a moustache? The worst thing about being in Blackadder? Or maybe which actors had to bring their own clothes to film a hit pilot? The answers to these hot-button issues in Jo Brand's poorly disguised old-timey clip-show are perfectly pitched, provoking - if anything - the kind of weary, non-committal, slightly surly shrug that's engendered by watching the actual programme itself.

Brand presides over a genial half-hour of sitcom quizzery that sees team leaders Rebecca Front and Barry 'Mine's a Large One!' Cryer joined by Hugh Dennis and Tony Robinson for a trawl through some well-thumbed snippets from the BBC archives. Andrew Sachs and Ian Lavender deliver creaky old war stories and Cryer delves into his endless fund of Willie Rushton anecdotes, before a round where the guests all try on a variety of wigs puts the show out of its misery.

Brand and guests are very easy people to like, but this is the worst kind of filler; to damn it with even fainter praise, it's the sort of programme that Alan Partridge would consider 'classic broadcasting'.

Jo Brand: Stage acting doesn't appeal to me

Jo Brand is hosting a new quiz show about television but the BAFTA-winning star of Getting On has no desire to tread the boards like Lenny Henry.

Jo Brand interview

Her time as a mental health nurse left Jo Brand with a deep love for the NHS - now she is furious at the way nurses are under attack.

Jo Brand: There should be more older women on TV

Jo Brand talks funny women and preparing telly for when she's 95.

Jo Brand: I was gobsmacked when I won Bafta for acting

An interview with Jo Brand, who is to host her new show Great Wall of Comedy which starts this week.

Channel 4's annual charity event returns with a troupe of performers large enough to make the Polyphonic Spree look on in envy. As ever, it's a mix of the established and the incipient, so Jo Brand and Jonathan Ross line up alongside men of the moment Adam Hills and Josh Widdicombe. Elsewhere, comedians dancing seems to be a thing just now, so Miranda Hart and Warwick Davis duly join up with Diversity to show off their moves, while Russell Brand absents himself from Hollywood to partake in some audience interaction.

Dance sensation Diversity puts a spring in the steps of Chatty Man Alan Carr, national charmer Miranda Hart and Idiot Abroad Warwick Davis, who've rashly decided to shake a leg - Ashley Banjo-style - as their contribution to this evening of fundraising action for Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity for children. Other funny faces putting their happy feet forward for the cause include comedian Kevin Bridges, who takes a pop at the more furtive pursuits of his fellow Scots, and TV regulars Russell Brand, Jack Dee, Jo Brand, Rich Hall and Paddy McGuinness. Among those putting in an appearance on VT are surreal loon Noel Fielding and Jack Whitehall.

The raucous annual stand-up bonanza in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital comes once again from the O2 in London.

When the live gig was held a couple of weeks ago, one critic described it as "Live at the Apollo on steroids". In other words, expect big, booming, arena-style stand-up from an all-star roster. Jack Whitehall, Jack Dee, Jo Brand, Noel Fielding and Jason Byrne are among the long list of comics donating gags to the cause.

Diversity open the show with a dance routine into which Alan Carr, Miranda Hart and Warwick Davis insert unexpected cameos. Lee Evans airs a routine about EasyJet. Russell Brand goes walkabout among the crowd. Rich Hall jokes about child labour ("Clothes make the man but kids make the clothes").

And unsurprisingly the recurring theme is the year's revelations about Jimmy Savile and other stars - everyone has an angle on that one.

Hay Festival 2013: Jo Brand Q & A

Jo Brand enjoys a punishing read - but draws the line at Fifty Shades of Grey.