What Sarah Millican will (& won't) be watching in 2014

EastEnders, Downton Abbey, The Wire - which shows make the cut for 2014? Sarah Millican shares her telly promises for the year...

Opinion: Marriages made in comedy heaven

It must be a laugh-a-minute in their house. That was the inevitable first thought when I heard yesterday that Sarah Millican and Gary Delaney had tied the knot.

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Tim Key, Sarah Millican and Russell Brand.

Do comedians (like MPs) need more life experience?

I recently reviewed Sarah Millican's latest show and noted that her life experience before comedy added value to her observational shtick. It begged the question of whether we should demand that our comedians do more 'living' before they exercise their ultimate chosen profession.

You could make a case that TV comedy is having a bit of a moment right now. Go back a few years and there was a dearth of fresh sitcoms and most panel games felt tired. Now we have fizzingly funny scripted shows from Fresh Meat to Man Down. Meanwhile, Would I Lie to You? has evolved into the perfect panel game (though A League of Their Own runs it a raucous second). Graham Norton and Alan Carr cross wits for the chatshow crown. And RT's own Sarah Millican has devised a blend of stand-up and chat that works like a dream.

This and much more is likely to be up for celebration by Jonathan Ross and the assembled, well-refreshed comedy gods. Nominations were under wraps as we went to press, so we can only hope BBC2's Count Arthur Strong gets the recognition from his peers he didn't get in the ratings and that other minority tastes like Peep Show and Getting On have their moments in the sun. But whoever wins the prizes, any ceremony populated by drunken comics is bound to be a blast.

Review: Sarah Millican biography

For what it is, Campanella has actually done a pretty decent job in producing a decent, readable biography of one of the most successful comedians to come out of the North East in recent years.

How the king or queen of comedy is crowned

Six nominees, including Sarah Millican, Jack Whitehall and Graham Norton, are up for the top comedy award. Who will win? The answer hinges on something I call the Neediness Index.

Jack Whitehall's star continues to rise and, rather endearingly, he's inviting his dad along for the ride. Having written a book and done stand-up together, Michael (a theatrical agent) and his son have bagged their own chat show. If the guestlist for tonight's opener is anything to go by, it should be both eclectic and hilarious. Imagine, for example, Jeremy Paxman's face when he was told he would be sharing airtime with Sir Daniel of Dyer?

But a word of warning. It's not the first time a comedian has had their parent on the show. Maybe it's kinder to use Adam & Joe's Bad Dad as the barometer, rather than the presenter's mum on The Matt Lucas Awards. Preceded by a live Whitehall gig at 9pm, Backchat may yet shed the curse of the BBC comedian-led talk-show that has beleaguered everyone from Sarah Millican to Rob Brydon.

The Jonathan Ross Show received record ratings on Saturday (16th November 2013) with 4.6 million and a peak of 4.9 million tuning in to watch One Direction, Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, Sarah Millican and Eminem. This was Jonathan's highest rating since he signed with ITV back in 2011.