How much does knowing the punchline ruin the gag?

The true test of a skilled comedian is the way that they can get just as big a laugh when the audience knows what is coming next as when they don't.

Michael McIntyre on why Billy Connolly is inspirational

Simply the stand-up by whom all others are judged. Michael McIntyre explains how the comedians' comedian is still going strong and finding the humour in everything.

Pictures: Michael McIntyre & wife Kitty at Wimbledon

Michael McIntyre and wife Kitty make a rare public appearance together at Wimbledon.

Interview: Michael McIntyre

Touring Australia may be mostly pleasurable for Michael McIntyre but it is also one of his most frustrating travel experiences.

Opinion: what is stand-up?

What is stand-up comedy? I thought I knew, but I'm starting to wonder.

Opinion: mainstream v alternative - is the gap closing?

We live in interesting times for comedy. I never thought I'd see Sara Pascoe on The Graham Norton Show. Maybe the gap is closing between what we describe as alternative and what we describe as mainstream. Maybe one of the legacies of Comedy Vehicle is that it did attract comedy fans to more cerebral notions of the nature of comedy. Sadly not enough for BBC2's beancounters.

C4 Comedy Gala, review

Rattling through a conveyor belt of more than twenty comedians, this marathon event had one-liners flying so thick and fast it started to become exhausting, says Bruce Dessau.

Comics with spectacular ha-ha homes

There are turrets and timbers, thatched roofs, private moorings and even an island. One home even has a secret garage, another boasts a 400-year-old walled garden. Yes, the titans of the comedy world have done rather nicely out of making people laugh.

Why do some comics make it big and not others?

There are all sorts of comedians I thought would make it but for some reason or other didn't. I tipped Marc Wootton for stardom in the Evening Standard so often it started to become embarrassing. People probably thought we must be related. I also think Boothby Graffoe could have been a mainstream star. Even Addy Van Der Borgh could have been a Saturday night shiny-floored clown. But for some reason none of these people made it as big as I expected. There is still time I guess. Maybe not enough time to get to the O2 this Friday, but there is always next year.

More live wittering to look forward to as McIntyre continues to flog his variety show, this week roping in Peter Jones from Dragons' Den to play his Send To All game, in which the comedian sends a text to Jones's entire contacts book to reap hilarious results. Elsewhere, there's "extreme flamenco" from fusion dance troupe Los Vivancos, music from Rod Stewart and James Morrison, pranks on members of the public and standup from Romesh Ranganathan.