BCG Daily Tuesday 15th April 2014

Edinburgh fringe gets down with the referendum

Comedians, musicians, actors, authors and playwrights have revealed they will be taking part in Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows inspired by the debate over Scotland's future.

Archbishop of Canterbury is a fan of Rev.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has sung the praises of BBC sitcom Rev., about the day-to-day challenges of a vicar in a struggling inner-city parish.

Review: The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler

The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler is a charming, quirky and delightful celebration of a man whose determination to be his own man remains a lesson to us all.

Joe Lycett finds fun in the uncomfortable

Joe Lycett has been performing since he was 19 and studying English and drama at Manchester University. ''The idea was to become an actor,'' he says. ''Then I found I really didn't like acting. I liked to show off and I didn't like sharing the limelight.''

Mel Smith leaves £6.5 million in his will

Mel Smith, who died of a heart attack at the age of 60 last year, left a £6.5 million fortune in a trust.

Rory Bremner: West End stage debut is a privilege

Rory Bremner has said it is "a massive privilege" to be making his West End stage debut at the age of 53.

Jo Joyner interview

Jo Joyner stars alongside The Thick of It's Chris Addison in new comedy drama Trying Again, about a couple trying to reunite after one has an affair.

Tommy Cooper's genius was in the love behind the laughs

Love. Now there's a word at the heart of all the laughter he brought. And one sadly absent from so much of the comedy that followed him.

Hartlepool comedy club celebrates third birthday

Rib Ticklers celebrated its third birthday with a belly full of laughs.

Altitude Comedy Festival 2014 review

More than 25 acts over five nights and a comedy bill that runs from late afternoon right through until the early hours of the morning.

Tommy Cooper - Flawed Genius

Thomas Frederick Cooper, born on 19 March 1921 in Caerphilly, Wales, was not born big. In fact the midwife said he was a weakling.

Preview: The Dark Room, Udderbelly, Good Friday

Determined punters will be coming on Friday who have already tried to beat the Floating Head during his earlier London run. As I said, a cult is born.

How we made Spitting Image

Peter Fluck and Steve Nallon talk about Spitting Image.

The Infidel musical reaches £55,000 Kickstarter target

The musical version of Omid Djalili movie The Infidel has reached its target on Kickstarter and will now go into production.

Ricky Gervais on the return of Derek Noakes

Somewhere between David Brent and Derek Noakes - around Andy Milman time - Ricky Gervais started to make the jump from cynicism and irony to kindness and honesty. It's a jump that not all fans of The Office have found easy to make.

Derek: Ricky Gervais waves goodbye to irony

Ricky Gervais is feeling pretty happy with his lot. As his surprisingly heart-warming mockumentary Derek returns to Channel 4 for a second series, Gervais explains his upbeat mood.

Ricky Gervais interview

He spoke so passionately about Derek, a project you can sense he's really proud of.

Audio: Memories of Tommy Cooper 30 years after he died

Thirty years ago today Caerphilly-born comedian Tommy Cooper died of a heart attack while performing live on TV.

Tudor Jones, a former comedy script writer and secretary of the Tommy Cooper Society, talked about his memories of the performer on BBC Radio Wales.

Russell Howard - Wonderbox review

Wonderbox is basically Russell Howard doing what he does best: sharing joyfully funny japes. And, considering the show's running gag about finding filth in the most innocent of phrases, we'd be willing to bet the title is just one big in-joke.

Katherine Ryan's ultimate glam role models

After six years of living in our celeb-obsessed country, Katherine Ryan's latest stand-up show focuses on her fascination with the shady world of glamour modelling and her desire for celebrities with authentic, powerful voices. 'Like who?' we hear you ask? Here are Katherine Ryan's ultimate glam role models.

Billy Kirkwood breaks a leg (& neck) for local talent

Wild-haired comic Billy Kirkwood is set to inject Breakneck Comedy with his own brand of random hilarity tonight.

Jenny Collier: I was kicked off a bill for being female

On the eve of International Women's Day, I was cancelled from a comedy show because they had "too many women" on the bill.

Interview: Jason Manford on Tommy Cooper

It's become a cliche that the audience are laughing before he spoke, but they actually were.

Award for comic Bobby Pattinson's charity work

Bobby Pattinson, the Godfather of North-East comedy, has been given an award for his dedication to charity work.

John Luke Roberts interview

When his school mates were busy swotting for their GCSEs, John Luke Roberts was composing his sketch show debut for the annual Edinburgh Festival.

Jo Joyner & Chris Addison interview

Jo Joyner and Chris Addison talk about playing Meg and Matt.

Frank Skinner interview

Frank Skinner, 57, on the highs and lows of his drinking, fatherhood - and how he tried to emulate Keith Richards.

The Jo Burke three minute interview

Jo Burke is an established Stand-Up and Character Comedian, perhaps most famous on the circuit as her Alta ego Mary Magdalene. Born and bred a South East Londoner, her school careers lesson consisted of a talk by a women who worked the tills at Tesco. Martin Walker finds her preparing for the Edinburgh Fringe.

The Iain Stirling three minute interview

Edinburgh born Iain Stirling is a BAFTA nominated kids TV presenter and stand-up comedian. He's currently performing club sets across the country as well as occasionally treating audiences to last year's smash Edinburgh show 'At Home'. Martin Walker had the pleasure to get to know a fellow Hibs football fan.

Blurring the Boundaries

When I came to develop Nineties Woman - a show tracing a collective of women I created a feminist newspaper with at University - I knew that it needed a narrative arc.