Stop / Start review

Jack Docherty's wedded radio sitcom makes a blissful (ish) leap onto the small screen.

Kerry Godliman interview

Being offered a plum job without the need to interview or audition is a lovely thing in any field of work. But when that call comes from comedy giant Christopher Guest - part of the team behind classics including This is Spinal Tap, Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman - to be in his next film, well, it's all the sweeter.

News: Funny Women results

American performer Desiree Burch has been crowned winner of the 2015 Funny Women final. The show took place at Kings Place in London and was compered by Kerry Godliman.

Kerry Godliman interview

Kerry Godliman is bemoaning the state of the modern day social media-obsessed culture.

Stand-ups pick the best comedy clubs

Keith Farnan, Carl Hutchinson, Kerry Godliman, Romesh Ranganathan, Richard Herring, Phil Wang, Chris Turner, Lucy Beaumont, Katie Mulgrew, Phil Nichol, Ahir Shah, Juliet Meyers, Tiff Stevenson, Rachel Parris, Stephen K Amos and Andrew Maxwell name their favourite comedy clubs.

The top 5 comedy shows this weekend!

Glenn Wool, Kerry Godliman and Pete Firman are cracking the funnies in the clubs this weekend...

There are people who defend this mockumentary to the death, egged on by Ricky Gervais on his Twitter account, but it doesn't wash with me. It has amusing moments, but the show's always at its best when Gervais's insufferable Derek Noakes is off-screen. Lord knows why this performance earns Golden Globe nominations in the U.S, because it's a cringe-worthy mix of tic's and cartoonish body language. Derek's finale revolved around the wedding of saintly nursing home worker Hannah (Kerry Godliman) to her underwritten bin man boyfriend, which intersected with the expulsion of gross Kev (David Earl). Wisely, Derek's actual role was largely limited to a fairly sweet date with an unconvincingly adoring woman. One gets the sense Gervais, deep down, knows the multitude of ways this show and his character is flawed (he's not an idiot), but despite the fact the finale's a big improvement from the show's first series, it could never overcome the awkward mix of lowbrow gags and unearned sentimentality.

The cast of Derek on the special, Gervais & TV kindness

Is it really the end for the Channel 4 comedy? Kerry Godliman, Holli Dempsey and Brett Goldstein are all keen to return to Broad Hill Care Home in the future...

Kerry's List, the second series of Kerry Godliman's affable Radio 4 comedy, uses an outside production house [rather than the BBC], and I'm glad to hear it. Godliman's funniness is in her and her everyday life; it would be awful if she were made to be proper. Last week, her impression of Jamie Oliver ("Kick it in the nuts with a bag of turmeric!") made me really laugh; as did her ranting about wanting to have a mad house party to her husband, when he just wanted her to pass him a spanner so he could mend the washing machine.

Each show is based around Godliman's to-do list for the week, which might include things such as "organise photos, sharpen pencils, move house... Superglue, catflap, grout". These lists are not only familiar to all of us, they provide a structure to each show; a neat structure, but flexible enough to include flashbacks and phone-calls and scenes with short-sighted opticians as well as a bit of Godliman's stand-up. She has some great lines ("Isn't 'we need more space' just one of those things people say when they can't be arsed to tidy up?") and her on-air character doesn't feel too far away from her real character, which gives the whole show a natural, naturally funny air. I like it a lot.

Kerry Godliman Q&A

In-demand comedian and actor Kerry Godliman returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with her new stand-up show, Face Time. The star of Channel 4's Derek gives Giggle Beats some face time, an insight into her life as a performer, working with Ricky Gervais, and her own struggles with technology.