BCG Daily Friday 4th April 2014

QI: what is the collective noun for a group of owls?

A quietly intriguing column from the brains behind QI, the BBC quiz show. This week: QI has a hoot.

Radio Times review

I had some sympathy with those who thought 2010's first series of The Trip was too self-referential and up itself. They'll probably think the same of this second series, where Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan play versions of themselves pootling through Italy dining in high-end restaurants. None of this alters the fact that it's helplessly, hilariously funny.

Both men are obviously a bit older and a bit more aware of the passage of time. Coogan's worried that his career might be hitting the doldrums and that he doesn't have his old pulling-power now that women see him as middle-aged.

He and Brydon have a good-naturedly barbed friendship as they chat amicably over dinner, kicking around each other's insecurities. The best bits are their competitive impressions - Brydon doing a B&Q advert voiceover as Tom Hardy's Batman villain Bane is a hoot.

Radio Times review

As the big beast of the panel-show genre rouses itself for a 47th series, we know what to expect. Nobody would pretend the show's satirical edge is as sharp as it once was or that the scripted gags supplied to the host aren't sometimes embarrassingly poor (you can often see team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton wince in sympathy). But it's still the best place to see the week's news given a going-over and it's good to have it back.

Jennifer Saunders takes the presenter's hot seat for the first time and Richard Osman, who generally raises everyone's game a peg or two, is a guest.

Radio Times review

Alan Carr: Chatty Man may have won the 2014 Royal Television Society Award for best entertainment performance, but there's no doubt that The Graham Norton Show is the one that attracts the best A-list guests.

Settling down on his sofa are Hollywood stars Russell Crowe (who indiscreetly voted Cate Blanchett the best on-screen kisser the last time he appeared on the show) and Cameron Diaz (who lassoed a fake cow - don't ask - but this time is probably plugging her relationship comedy The Other Woman).

Joining them are The Voice UK mentor Kylie Minogue and Richard Ayoade, whose new movie The Double has just opened.

Can Jason Manford save the comedy circuit?

Jason Manford on why he is setting up a new chain of clubs.

Gary Little on becoming popular stand-up star

Scots comic Gary Little on becoming a popular stand-up star and why he's putting depression and jail time behind him.

Eddie Izzard to urge Scots to remain in the UK

Eddie Izzard will urge Scots to remain in the UK with a comedy fundraiser for the Better Together campaign tonight.

Jethro interview

Cornish comedian Jethro is laughing in the face of the humble bottle of wine and refusing to mature with age ahead of his upcoming Yeovil show.

Tribute to Stan and Ollie's genius and friendship

It's been half a century since Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy died, but their comedy lives on. Lucky Dog Theatre Productions is celebrating their legacy with Hats Off To Laurel & Hardy, a brand new show.

The Trip To Italy preview

The difference with this and other comedies on television is its pace. Whilst most comedies are quick-paced this one is the complete opposite.

Review: Alexander Armstrong's Real Ripping Yarns

This could easily have been just a rehash of jingoistic values, without the mitigating Python silliness - and sometimes it was - but Real Ripping Yarns also provided a novel lens though which to view a major change in British culture.

The Trip to Italy: Britain's best ever improv comedy?

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's culinary travelogue comedy The Trip to Italy may well be the most sustained and successful example of genuine ad-libbing that Britain has ever produced.

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Jim Gaffigan, Steve Bugeja and Andrew O'Neill].

Richard Ayoade on The Double

How do you make a convincing film about a man with an identical-looking, but completely different-acting, doppelganger? Director Richard Ayoade says that sort of challenge is what made The Double star Jesse Eisenberg the only actor he wanted for the role.

Steve Coogan on The Trip, politics and Alan Partridge

"I like using comedy in drama and that's what I'm interested in developing"

Ed Mayhew interview

An interview with Ed Mayhew, who has been gigging since 2010.

Alan Partridge: a guide for Americans

As Alan Partridge: The Movie hits US screens, here is everything you need to know about Steve Coogan's greatest comedy creation. Aha!

Opinion: Derek - Ricky's Folly?

The debate this time isn't about whether Ricky Gervais is mocking people with learning difficulties, it is whether his portrayal of innocent, saintly, simple soul Derek Noakes has any connection whatsoever with reality.

John Gordillo - how I write comedy

He's not just an masterful stand-up John Gordillo, is also regarded as a scholar of the trade, so aspiring comics - read on...

The Trip to Italy - TV review

It's funny business as usual, as Coogan and Brydon impersonate their way through Italy in this reinvented travelogue.

Cardinal Burns: "We've got about 20 levels of camp"

Sketch comedy is in safe hands with duo. They tell Holly Williams about graduating to the TV mainstream.

From Russia with laughs: A comic invasion of Britain

Just don't mention the (Crimean) war... Russia is planning a comic invasion of Britain this summer, with three of its most popular stand-ups booked to perform over three nights at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Trip to Italy, TV review

It was the colourful little brushstrokes that give this Trip such depth.

Comedian to hold seance for Margaret Thatcher

How will you be marking the one-year anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's death? Comedian Nathaniel Tapley is holding a séance - and you're all invited!

Eddie Izzard 'intimidated' by trip to Scotland

Eddie Izzard has bowled north to join the campaign to persuade Scottish voters to vote against leaving the UK in the forthcoming independence referendum.

The Trip To Italy review

The highlight of this first episode was the much trailed Batman scene with the tear-choking Michael Caines and incomprehensible Christian Bales and Tom Hardys. Yet it's extended beyond the online teasers into a dig at Bale's reputation for preciousness and questioning if Hardy could hold a two by four to Brydon's B&Q voiceovers.

Outnumbered's Tyger Drew-Honey interviews porn parents

That must be awkward! Outnumbered's Tyger Drew-Honey interviews porn star parents for new BBC Three documentary series.

Background on Over To Bill

The pilot episode was shot in a frantic six-day period earlier this month, cramming 22 different locations into a 32-page script.

Alan Partridge aims for American success

Say the name Alan Partridge in Britain, and everyone knows who you're talking about.