This throwaway spin-off has quietly eaten its parent, the less likable 8 Out Of 10 Cats. It's in the way Countdown and the comedy interact: once the scripted opening gags are over, the fact that Sean Lock et al are more or less playing properly satisfies viewers who want a panel game to contain an actual game, while the overlong runtime helps bring a loose, tipsy muckabout feel.

Channel 4's Comedy Gala: the 10 best jokes

The best lines from Michael McIntyre, Katherine Ryan, Sean Lock and more.

Sean Lock's anti-cat tirade left me bereft of friends

I was horrified, of course, but more than that betrayed, disappointed and perplexed. Could I continue to like someone who hates my very raison d'etre?

Bill Bailey & Sean Lock top Altitude 2015 line-up

Bill Bailey and Sean Lock have just been announced as the headliners at this year's Altitude Festival. The annual festival, which combines stand-up with skiing and snowboarding, takes place in Mayrhofen, Austria, from March 23 - 27.

With a little liquid still left in that particular game show crossover sponge, here's another splash of word-wrangling whimsy from the Cats crew, with Jimmy Carr, Sean Lock and Jon Richardson joined by Reginald D. Hunter and British comedy award-winner Aisling Bea in search of those elusive eight-pointers. The lexicographical gold-panning is overseen, as ever, by Susie Dent, with assistance from Holly Walsh. As for which format to remix next, how about 8 Out of 10 Cats does The Crystal Maze?

I have been enjoying Grace Dent's Saturday morning series on the history of radio comedy, The Frequency of Laughter. She's worked her way from 1975 to 2005, just by talking to two people who were involved in each five-year era. Her questions are insightful, and she creates a relaxed, slightly naughty atmosphere that brings out the best in her interviewees. A couple of them have been quite indiscreet, and what's made those indiscretions more enjoyable is that the producers have tracked down whoever they've been rude about and asked them what they remember. So, in the show that covered 1995-2000, radio producer Paul Schlesinger recalled Sean Lock and Bill Bailey being forced to read out episodes from 15 Storeys High to a reluctant commissioner, who said "I don't understand why this is funny", but grudgingly gave them a few episodes. And then we heard from that very commissioner, who insisted that this was "one of the most joyful moments" he'd ever had in his career, when Bill Bailey read for him. No mention of Lock, whose show it was. Hmm.

In the previous programme, covering 1990-95, Sarah Smith, another Radio 4 producer, admitted that she used to favour certain writers for the satirical sketch show Week Ending: new talent such as Richard Herring and Stewart Lee. Other producers didn't, and lo, we heard from one, Diane Messias. She explained clearly that she believed that topical satire should make a political point and that Lee and Herring didn't do this, creating their jokes by laughing at a situation. "Both methods are valid," she said firmly. "Except I'm right."

Michael McIntyre's xmas show announces first guests

Confirmed to appear so far are Sean Lock, Jason Manford, Seann Walsh, Ross Noble and Josh Widdicombe.

The show about opinion polls, surveys and statistics is back for its 18th series, and provides plenty of raw material for the comedians to come up with hilarious gags.

Jimmy Carr returns as host, with his classic sardonic delivery and infamous laugh.

"It's a honk," he explains. "My laugh has its own Facebook page!"

Team captains Jon Richardson and Sean Lock are also back, and they're joined by comedian Jack Dee, Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney and comic Rob Beckett in the first episode.

Jimmy Carr hosts another series of mash-ups between the teatime quiz and lairy panel show. 8 Out Of 10 Cats team captains Sean Lock and Jon Richardson get their thinking caps on, alongside guests James Corden and Jack Dee. Over in Dictionary Corner - where nine-letter words reign supreme - up-and-coming comic Joe Lycett joins Susie Dent, while Rachel Riley is assisted in the numbers game by Joe Wilkinson (Him & Her). For true Cats devotees, the latest series continues on Mondays at 10pm, too.