BCG Daily Wednesday 11th June 2014

Jason Manford: The nicest man in comedy?

There's just no way to avoid saying it, so we'll get it out of the way early - Jason Manford is a nice guy. So nice, he might be the most popular comedian in the UK right now.

Radio Times review

The comedy hovers below the waist as Sean and Beverly visit a couples counsellor (a straight-talking sex therapist, it turns out) to address their problems "fornicationally". "If your vagina could speak, what would it say to Sean right now?" wonders the therapist, an invitation Beverly responds to with a beautifully eccentric piece of comedy - top work from Tamsin Greig.

But while Sean has difficulty upping his game, as it were, network boss Castor has the opposite problem, as an admiring Carol has very much noticed. Beverly thinks sleeping with the boss (again) would be a mistake: "I think he's the cliff and you're Thelma and Louise," she warns. But when did Carol ever listen to what anybody else said?

Tim Vine interview

Tim Vine is very kindly supporting The Cure Parkinson's Trust once again by participating in trading firm City Index's "Celebrity Trader" initiative.

QI: why was a dog admitted to the Royal Navy?

A quietly intriguing column from the brains behind QI, the BBC quiz show. This week: QI gets barking about dogs.

Audio: Jo Brand on social workers

Jo Brand has defended the work of social workers, describing them as "damned if they do and damned if they don't".

Top 10 Tips: Dealing with Exposition

How to do Exposition.

No! Rik Mayall's political campaigns

Rik Mayall won widespread acclaim for his portrayals of an anarchic left-wing student in The Young Ones and ruthless MP Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman. But he also stepped away from the fictional world for two successful political campaigns - preventing the UK from joining the Euro, and campaigning against the Alternative Vote system.

Unearthed interview with Rik Mayall about Harry Potter

An interview with the late Bottom actor. who was due to play poltergeist Peeves in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but his scenes were cut before the film hit cinemas.

All aboard the Comedy Train

Rarely can an East Coast service from London King's Cross to Darlington ever have been the venue for such good-natured, jovial chaos.

Radio Times review

Stand-up Lucy Beaumont, the 2012 BBC New Comedy Award winner, writes and stars in this delightful sitcom pilot, a cross between a Victoria Wood sketch and a Mike Leigh film. She is Sophie, a daft ha'p'orth stuck living at home with her proud, junk-obsessed mum (Maureen Lipman).

But Sophie dreams of becoming an actress and thinks she has a shot when she gets an audition in London for "Third in the queue at Debenhams". There's a precise yet warm quality to the writing, including a rare fresh take on mishearing the Lord's Prayer, all enhanced by Lipman's peerless comic timing.

The Cutting Edge, The Comedy Store, review

A slightly weary air of business-as-usual prevailed among the staff. You might have thought the club would have done something to salute Mayall but he wasn't mentioned.

The Susie McCabe three minute interview

According to her Facebook page, Susie McCabe has spent many years smoking fags, playing Xbox and having enthusiastic banter with people from all walks of life. Of-course she is a stand-up comedian, what else could she be? Martin Walker asks about her Edinburgh Fringe show, Tourist Misinformation.