BCG Daily Thursday 15th May 2014

Episodes: review

The audience is king as Matt LeBlanc and Co play it for laughs on both sides of the Atlantic.

Radio: Waking up with Frank Skinner is an absolute joy

These aren't cutting-edge gags and Skinner's show isn't comedy with a capital "C". It's essentially a man murmuring amusingly into a microphone while listeners drift in and out of consciousness. There's serious craft in this uniquely casual style of broadcasting and Skinner has perfected it.

Dom Joly on anxiety attacks

The comic, 46, talks about his struggles with a debilitating anxiety disorder during Mental Health Awareness Week.

Radio Times review

Every sitcom worth its salt needs to include a dinner/house party episode at some point, so now is as good a time as any for this agreeable romantic comedy.

Matt and Meg have decided to throw a housewarming dinner. Flushed with sensible intentions, they've invited Iain and his girlfriend in the hope of drawing a line under Meg's affair. The pall of impending disaster is as thick as the aroma of Matt's Thai green curry.

When Iain offers some help in the kitchen, a simmering pot of repressed emotions rises to the boil. The free-flowing wine adds to the chaos. Meanwhile, best pals Gail and Sam are supposedly on hand to act as buffers, but when the atmosphere sours they form a misguided plan of escape.

If you're a fan of painfully awkward comedy, writer Tony Roche (The Thick of It) delivers in spades.

Radio Times review

Unlike the opening two episodes in this third series, The Cruise isn't interested in being clever, satirical or postmodern (not that there's anything wrong in that); instead it aims for straightforward, old-fashioned laughs - and gets them fairly efficiently.

Jane Horrocks plays Jacky, a suburban hairdresser with bedroom decor so twee that her face dissolves chameleon-like against the peachy wallpaper. Jacky wants husband Andy to join her on a cruise. Andy is, at best, lukewarm about the idea. Is his reluctance hiding something? Will Jacky get her cruise? Frankly, you won't much care, but this is still a likeable, if predictable, little Britcom.

Radio Times review

Why are the British so obsessed with owning their own homes? Now's the time to find out and have a laugh at the same time as Simon Evans kicks off his four-part series on the financial markets with a look at property investment.

The emphasis here is on the comic, with Evans's guests - FT[/i columnist Tim Harford, [i]Money Week's editor-in-chief Merryn Somerset Webb and Who Owns Britain author Kevin Cahill - finding it difficult to get a word in edgeways in between jokes about Location, Location, Location and Property Ladder.

There are some factual gems in among the undeniably entertaining banter and, with further programmes to come on gold, oil and grain, whether you enjoy this series or not depends on what you wish to gain from it. This is very much informative comedy rather than comic information.

Pictures: Eddie Izzard in heels and lipstick

Eddie Izzard is seen trying on various different lipsticks - revealing his patriotically painted nails in the process.

Keith Lemon dresses as Solange Knowles to act out fight

Keith Lemon has marked THAT video of Beyonce's sister Solange Knowles attacking Jay Z in his own way - by dressing up as her, and re-enacting it of course.

Simon Evans: Are shares a laughing matter?

We test the most improbable of hypotheses - that money can be funny.

Sarah Millican: Does it matter what I was wearing?

"I'm sorry. I thought I had been invited to such an illustrious event because I am good at my job. Putting clothes on is such a small part of my day. They may as well have been criticising me for brushing my teeth differently to them."

Charles Booth interview

Charles Booth has been doing sketch comedy in various different guises for about 6 years now.

Marcus Brigstocke review

His eating-disorder material is fascinating and unexpected.

Abandoman preview

Giving the less than beloved musical comedy genre a very good name.

My comedy hero: Gareth Richards on Norm Macdonald

"He doesn't seem to be trying very hard - he's just being really, really funny"

Review: Episodes, Series 3, BBC Two

Any laughs left in the special-relationship com-com with Matt LeBlanc?

Charlotte Ritchie: I can see Fresh Meat film happening

The 24-year-old comedy star, who plays Oregon in the hit Channel 4 drama, says she can envisage a film set in Barbados with a generously long filming time...

Showstoppers v Abandoman

Two teams of improvised musical comedy merchants are heading to Udderbelly. We pit Showstoppers against Abandoman.