Sarah Millican
Sarah Millican

Sarah Millican

  • 48 years old
  • English
  • Writer, executive producer and stand-up comedian

Press clippings Page 30

Following 8 Out Of 10 Cats was brand new panel show King Of... hosted by the enormously pregnant Claudia Winkleman, who looked ready to pop if she so much as sneezed. Winkleman's become something of a cult in recent years, primarily thanks to her hosting of Strictly Come Dancing's irreverent sister show It Takes Two, where her brand of scatterbrained madness has endeared her to many. She's still very much a love/hate personality, similar to nutty face-puller Davina McCall, but King proves she's incapable of hosting what amounts to an optimistic version of Room 101.

The premise is very simple and, unfortunately, incredibly pointless and uninteresting. Winkleman's joined by two celebrity guests over the course of the show, who debate what the "king" (read "best") of any given topic is. King of snacks? King of holidays? King of music? King of pets? King of cities? You name. It's so trifling and inane that it would barely cover a column in Heat, and Winkleman's unable to spin any gold from the discussion.

The opener's guests were Geordie comedian Sarah Millican and presenter/DJ Chris Evans: the former a likable enough person who's extremely overexposed right now; the latter nowhere near funny enough to turn a tedious "what's the king of cheese?" question into comedy dynamite. Maybe it's my cynical British attitude, but there's nothing especially funny or interesting about listening to celebs state a case for something they adore, and essentially list favourites. It's radio's Desert Island Discs with wider topics of discussion, but without an soul. I'd much rather they bitch and moan about something they hate.

Winkleman's on record saying the show's "shit", thanks to a moment of candor a few weeks ago, and it's hard to disagree with her. What's the king of panel shows? Anything but this. I can only assume Winkleman needed the money to decorate her nursery.

Dan Owen, Dan's Media Digest, 20th June 2011

Channel 4's new Friday night unspectacular King Of... a sizzling search for the best of everything. Twenty-five minutes of twee tellyfilla featuring ubiquitous guest Sarah Millican, Chris Evans and a penguin chasing host Claudia Winkleman round the studio. Truly ­hilarious. "King of ways to end a TV show," giggled ­Claudia. "I'm going with the ­salute." I'm going with the axe.

Kevin O'Sullivan, The Mirror, 19th June 2011

This quirky new panel show is based on a format originally created by Jerry Seinfeld, who apparently came up with the idea after persuading a friend to referee during a row with his wife. Unfortunately for him the show initially got withering reviews in America, although it attracted enough viewers to be filed under "cult viewing". Maybe it'll do better on this side of the pond. The idea is that the opinionated panellists (among them Jonathan Ross, James Corden and Sarah Millican) listen to the marital tiffs of real couples, then offer their hopefully amusing opinions before judging who's in the right. The sort of spats they'll pronounce on are whether a wife loves her cat more than her husband (probably) and whether a woman's demand that her hubbie give up skateboarding and grow up is fair (definitely). Ever-amiable host Dermot O'Leary has already tweeted: "Jeremy Kyle punters need not apply."

Jane Rackham, Radio Times, 18th June 2011

Claudia Winkleman enters the overcrowded Friday night chat show fray with a new six-part "high concept" show that invites celebrities to debate the relative merits of their favourite things (a reverse of the BBC's Room 101 format). As that could encompass choosing between Stinking Bishop and Manchego as the king of cheeses, its success will depend not only on the quality of her guests, but also their peculiarities. Tonight's guests are broadcaster Chris Evans and South Shields stand-up Sarah Millican.

Gerald O'Donovan, The Telegraph, 17th June 2011

The return of the standup show in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, something you may need to bear in mind as you resentfully endure the comedy stylings of Chris Moyles. He's joined, however, by Sarah Millican, Dara O'Briain, Jack Dee, Lee Evans and Jonathan Ross. There are musical contributions from Dead Cat Bounce and those young scamps N-Dubz, as well as video appearances from Lady Gaga, Russell Brand, Whoopi Goldberg and Patrick Stewart. Rob Brydon also chips in.

David Stubbs, The Guardian, 10th June 2011

Well done to the 15,000 people who actually paid for tickets to this comedy marathon a couple of weeks ago at London's cavernous O2 Arena.

It was all in a good cause - for Great Ormond Street - but you can see it without forking out for the Tube fare.

Alan Carr, Dara O'Briain, Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Jack Whitehall - if there's a comedian you've heard of but have not got around to seeing in the flesh, they're most probably going to be here.

As Jack Dee drily notes, the backstage area must have been quite an experience - all those comedians sitting around... NOTICING things.

It's hard to pick a standout stand-up, but Sarah Millican is fabulous and Sean Lock goes down a storm with topical gags about Ryan Giggs and Twitter.

And I love the introduction Lock got from Jonathan Ross: "He couldn't be more attractive to the ladies if he was a Take That ticket made of chocolate. That vibrates."

Jane Simon, The Mirror, 10th June 2011

If you like your stand-up delivered at close quarters in a basement club, this is not for you. It's the behemoth of comedy occasions, a gathering of 20 or so top comics in front of a vast audience at the O2 arena. The event happened a couple of weeks ago and the consensus was that Sean Lock took the honours with his routine, including a topical line about the real cause of the ash cloud being Ryan Giggs burning newspapers. Michael McIntyre, Lee Evans and Sarah Millican add to the fun.

David Butcher, Radio Times, 10th June 2011

Interview: Sarah Millican

Sarah Millican couldn't give two hoots about a pot of gold at the end of the 121-date tour rainbow she's currently riding. All she wants is enough time to wash and dry her underwear in the confines of her Manchester flat and a "bloody big milk" in the fridge.

Sam Wonfor, Newcastle Journal, 19th April 2011

Video: Sarah Millican on the art of stand-up

An interview with the lovely stand-up comedian and writer Sarah Millican (a finalist in the 2005 BBC New Comedy Awards).

Sidd Khajuria, BBC Blogs, 14th March 2011

Comedians re-create childhood photos

Take a dozen comedians, add some snaps from the family album, mix them all up and what do you get? Featuring Alan Carr, Miranda Hart, Greg Davies, Jessica Hynes, Sarah Millican, Dom Joly, Jason Byrne, Shappi Khorsandi, Chris Addison, Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard and Jon Holmes.

Becky Barnicoat, The Guardian, 5th March 2011

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