Mark Watson: My war with Frankie Boyle

In the past few weeks, I briefly became a hot topic on Twitter; I was in a couple of national newspapers; I was written about exhaustively on every comedy website of note; and I became enough of a talking point - at least in certain small, Soho-based circles - that quite a few conversations I've had have begun with people asking, "How have you been?" You could say that I've been the centre of attention, which is what all comedians want, in a nutshell. So that's the good news.

The Horne Section: Songs in the key of silly

It's the perfect match. The improvised musings of the country's best comedians combined with the free-form noodlings of a five-piece jazz band. When The Horne Section debuted at Edinburgh this summer, it quickly became the talk of the Fringe. Punters clutching pints queued round the block for the occasional, lightly shambolic midnight shows. Jimmy Carr dropped by to rap out 10 one-liners over 10 different beats, Tim Minchin improvised a song about cheese and Tim Key performed a track by the Russian punk band Leningrad. There were burlesque dancers, shared bags of chips and 2am Bon Jovi singalongs, led by Josie Long with Mark Watson on drums.

Mark Watson interview

As he brings his latest tour to London, we chat to Mark Watson about his novel, his stand-up tour, and about his experiences with Twitter...

Fighting talk over Fighting Talk

I'm about to record another Mark Watson Kicks Off and, although this is a bit boring, I thought I would quickly clarify with the show being awfully similar to Fighting Talk, on Five Live. They're both made by the same production company.

The "Live" in the title is a bit of a misnomer as the Fringe has been over for weeks but, nevertheless, these two shows - hosted by Glaswegian comic Kevin Bridges - showcase some of the biggest names gracing the festival, including breakout Liverpudlian John Bishopthe deadpan wit of Mark Watson, the always entertaining Sean Lock and newer lights such as Jack Whitehall. It could do with a few more of those nominated for the Foster's Awards like Bo Burnham and Josie Long, but it's still a strong lineup.

Watch: Radio 4 comedy in Edinburgh

Here's the quite lovely video that the Radio 4 comedy gang shot on The Royal Mile at the beginning of the Edinburgh Festival. You'll see Paul Merton, Mark Watson, Nicholas Parsons, Susan Calman, Stephen K Amos and others entertaining festival-goers on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Do you think Rob Brydon is telling the truth when he assures us that when panellists read statements off their cards, they're seeing them for the very first time?

Or is that a lie as well? That thought might have occurred to you a few times already as all the participants turn out to be surprisingly capable of spinning a believable yarn around the most unlikely of subjects. So either the show is fibbing about the rules or Britain's celebs are actually a far more devious bunch than we give them credit for.

Tonight, no-nonsense Dragon Deborah Meaden insists that she once called in an exorcist after spooky goings-on in her home, Patrick Kielty claims an extraordinary meeting with Muhammad Ali, stand-up comic Mark Watson relives a childhood trauma, Bernard Cribbins holds up his hands to car theft. Worryingly, we're inclined to believe every word they say.

Team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack are on especially fine form tonight.

This new series of small screen stand-up kicks off with a superb performance from Mark Watson, a rising star on the British comedy circuit. As a new dad, Mark's got plenty of material to work with and does an admirable job of warming up the crowd for his comedy cohorts Andrew Lawrence and Alun Cochrane.

Manford will have tough time juggling One Show & comedy

Manford will be rushed by motorbike from BBC Television Centre to the Hammersmith Apollo, writes Mark Lawson.