Ronnie Corbett blasts scruffy comedians

Dapper comedy legend Ronnie Corbett has taken a swipe at scruffy young comics.

Audio: Do comedians rely on toilet humour too much?

Ronnie Corbett thinks today's comedians are too reliant on toilet humour. Andrew Doyle and Mark Cooper-Jones are comedians appearing at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. They told Radio 5 live's Anita Anand that comedy is about pushing boundaries.

Hats off to Ronnie Corbett and a cosy canine sitcom

Gillian Reynolds reviews the week in radio, including the second series of Ronnie Corbett's sitcom When the Dog Dies on Radio 4 Extra.

Ronnie Corbett is back! Not in the outsized armchair, telling shaggy dog stories about his producer, but in series two of the cockle-warming sitcom by Sorry! scribes Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent. The deep-voiced micro-comic plays Sandy Hopper, still hunkering down in the family home until his ancient dog Henry expires. Daughter Ellie wants to get her reluctant son Tyson into an academy school, but Sandy doesn't know who to side with. A blizzard of comic detail peppers the tale of middle-class pretension, and it's a charming vehicle for Corbett. Liza Tarbuck channels the spirit of Pat Coombs as Sandy's lodger Dolores.

While Stephen Fry discourses on persuasive language (in advertising and so on) on Radio 4 here's an agreeable alternative, a brand new series of the sitcom where Ronnie Corbett plays a widower with a dog, a rather tarty lodger (Liza Tarbuck), a comfortable lifestyle - and a daughterwho wishes he'd hurry up and sell his house. Written by Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent who perfectly understand the way Corbett gently inflects a line into a joke. Produced by Liz Anstee for CPL Independent Productions Ltd. Don't worry. It'll be on Radio 4 before long.

When the Dog Dies, Radio 4 Extra, preview

Gillian Reynolds looks ahead to a new series of the gentle comedy starring Ronnie Corbett.

Comic Relief's mix of mirth and misery done to a turn

BBC show features appearances from Andy Murray, Kim Cattrall and Simon Callow - plus Ronnie Corbett hiding in the bushes.

Season's greetings from Auntie's Reckless Nostalgia department, where Ronnie Corbett is sitting in a corner, tweaking his glasses as he panic-knits gags for this 80th birthday bun-fight. Intended as a celebration of the minute octogenarian's career, it's a peculiar affair, with famous guests (Richard Wilson, Rob Brydon, Catherine Tate) scattered like novelty pencil toppers among wilting sketches about dongles and trapped wind. Still, there's an air of genuine affection to proceedings, and Corbett's way with a one-liner remains one of light entertainment's most enduring marvels. "I have my own treadmill at home. I'm only doing widths at the moment . . .")

Ronnie Corbett Christmas return: Puns upon a time

Gareth Edwards says the comedy of word play deserves a revival.

TV review: Being Ronnie Corbett

As well as being interviewed about their admiration, some of his younger fans were filmed chatting awkwardly with him, standing around in an empty white space, which suggested the waiting room of a comedy afterlife (or perhaps a paradigm for conjugating visual epigrams). Maybe the budget couldn't even run to the scruffy old chairs of his trademark monologues.