BCG Daily Wednesday 21st May 2014

Picture: Jimmy Carr uses a £10 note as coffee holder

Jimmy Carr is well known for having a laugh, so perhaps he was just having a funny turn when he was spotted with a cup of takeaway coffee using what appeared to be a £10 note as a holder.

TV review: 24 Hours To Go Broke, Dave

The mix of comedy celebrity challenge, game show and travelogue in 24 Hours To Go Broke makes for a pleasant, if undemanding, watch.

Why Harry and Paul had to stab BBC2 in the back

They became household names on BBC Two, but now they present a merciless spoof tribute to the channel. Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield tell James Rampton why they couldn't resist the chance to bite the hand that feeds them.

Radio Times review

Although at heart it's a sitcom, the longer, dramatic storylines in Episodes mean you may not want to read on if you haven't seen the series opener...

In the biggest news, network exec Carol is set to get a new boss, having been passed over (humiliatingly) for the top job she was promised. Naturally, her colleagues are preparing their resumes, convinced the new broom will sweep them all out, but when he turns up he proves to be madder than they imagined: "I don't care if we fail," he tells Carol. "If we go down in flames at least there were flames."

Meanwhile, Matt tells his lawyer (another brief, brilliant cameo by Nigel Planer) that the drink-driving charge is nonsense. "I was so not drunk. Believe me: I've driven drunk and I know the difference."

Radio Times review

If Ronnie Barker's vote had counted, we could have been celebrating 40 years of Welsh gambler Evan Owen, not cynical jailbird Norman Stanley Fletcher. But instead of I'll Fly You for a Quid it was Porridge pilot Prisoner and Escort that was picked up for a series in 1974.

In the first of a three-part series, creators Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, now in their 70s but still pitching ideas in Hollywood ("It's Spielberg: tell him to go away!") reveal the unlikely origins of and initial fears for one of our finest ever sitcoms. One fab sequence sees the pair dissect their favourite scene, chuckling along with every familiar line.

Later, über-fan Keith Allen drives a police van around Porridge locations, while we hear rare Barker recordings intended for real prison inmates. Eric Idle points out the roundedness of HM Prison Slade's wiliest character, and Kate Beckinsale, daughter of Richard (Godber), reminds us that the series really clicked when it became a two-hander.

It's a total treat for devotees of the kind of comedy where not a word was wasted. David "Old Man Blanco" Jason is the narrator.

Mark Thomas: how to define Nigel Farage

The comedian and activist revisits the successes and dangers of his 100 Minor Acts of Dissent tour.

Pictures: comedians who have starred in Doctor Who

As Frank Skinner reveals he will appear in the latest Doctor Who series, take a look at these other stand-up, sketch and sitcom comedians who have guest starred opposite the Time Lord.

Porridge: the greatest ever British sitcom?

In the comedy's 40th year, Gabriel Tate argues that putting Ronnie Barker in a prison cell was a stroke of genius.

Brendan Burns interview

Brendon Burns is the Marmite of the comic world. Although if you hate him, you simply don't speak the language of funny mate.

Rufus Hound on why he is standing as an MEP

Not content with the London stage, Rufus Hound is standing as an MEP in tomorrow's elections. Here the comedian explains why the future of the NHS is no laughing matter.

Brian Ferguson: Lack of combined effort at Fringe

An almost impossible task which just got more difficult: that is the best description I can give to describe trying to keep tabs on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year, as, several weeks ahead of the official programme launch, there has been such a haphazard release of information on shows.

Opinion: The missing Monty Python link

There was a different appearance from Eric Idle's "Nudge-Nudge" character which I can't find anywhere. It was in a TV advert for Breakaway chocolate bars which also featured Idle's blazered buffoon, though this time, if my memory is correct, he wouldn't shut up about the chocolate and crispy biscuit combination.

TV preview: The Fast Show Special, BBC2

Well, the Pythons are back so why shouldn't The Fast Show get on the comedy merry-go-round again? Particularly when they are all alive and still in pretty good health. Although as far as I know none of them have big divorce settlements or major mortgages to service.

Tim Vine gives a young stand-up stage time

A young comedian got his big break in Worthing after impressing TV comic Tim Vine with an impromptu stand-up routine.

John Kearns on cracking Edinburgh

John Kearns is a stand-up comedian. Last year, he won Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. He talks to IdeasMag about nightmare gigs, Doctor Brown, and balancing full-time work with comedy...

The dating interview - Gina Yashere, comedian

At 40, Gina is technically still single (though she does talk rather excitedly of an American professor who she is currently seeing).

First look at Frankie Boyle's return to the BBC

Boyle is back on the Beeb in a new iPlayer-only comedy show following his controversial absence from the small screen.

Episodes, Derek: is this British sitcom death knell?

So with the awful Derek airing the same evening as the deeply average Episodes, is the death knell sounding for British sitcom?

Nick Frost-lookalike inspiration behind Mr Sloane

Acclaimed director Robert Weide has described how a chance experience with a Nick Frost-lookalike inspired him to write new Sky Atlantic series Mr Sloane.

Meera Syal to co-star with Jack Black in US comedy

"I'm going off to LA to record a comedy series called The Brink for HBO with Jack Black, Tim Robbins and Austin Powers director Jay Roach," says the 52-year-old, who will also feature in the next series of Sky Arts comedy Psychobitches.

What's your favourite BBC2 comedy of the last 50 years?

As the channel celebrates its 50th anniversary, vote for the best comedy of the last five decades.