BCG Daily Friday 20th June 2014

Inside Television: A feast of comedy on Fridays

This Friday night, as is traditional, I'll be enjoying some family time over dinner. In other words, I'll be watching the new series of Friday Night Dinner - alone, hopefully - with a family-size glass of wine. Glorious.

Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, TV review

Brilliant bar-room-style show consistently delivers.

Calls for more female comedians at British festivals

Some of the UK's biggest festivals are under pressure to include more female comedians on the bill.

Behind the joke: Midnight Beast, Natan Caton...

Celia Pacquola, The Midnight Beast and Nathan Caton explain how chocolate biscuits, Ke$ha and trying to act cool inspired their routines.

Edinburgh Fringe 2014 interview: Hatty Ashdown

In 2012 Hatty Ashdown told Edinburgh audiences all about her upbringing as a 'nan child' in Kent. Now's the time for the rest of the story, including tales of failed jobs, embarrassing siblings and bathroom fashion.

Radio Times review

Within minutes of the start, Robert Popper's sitcom has contrived to get eccentric dad Martin covered in ketchup, half naked and shaking hands with his son's new girlfriend while his foot is in a toilet bowl.

This kind of wince-making farce is what Popper is good at. The confines of a sitcom where the one setting is a Jewish suburban home and the time frame is limited to the meal of the title only serves to boost his powers of invention.

Martin (Paul Ritter) is a consistently awful but just-recognisable creation. "Has anyone in your family been murdered?" is his idea of small talk with Adam's girlfriend, but he later concludes, "That Emma's a smashing female." (She is beautifully played by Sophia Di Martino, barely recognisable from her Casualty days.)

Ordinarily the comedy revolves around Adam and his brother Johnny's sparring but here Adam manages to sabotage his date himself, with just a little help from an eight-year-old neighbour. The laughs are excruciating, but they're big and real.

Jack Dee threatens to quit ISIHAC over smutty jokes

Jack Dee has allegedly threatened to quit as chairman of the long-running comedy panel show I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue after he was ordered to tone down his smutty jokes.

Sit down with the Goodmans for a new series

Channel 4's real-time family sitcom is timed to perfection: an enjoyably silly break from the football overload.

Edinburgh Fringe Preview: Sara Pascoe

I've been tipping Sara Pascoe for stardom for so long now if she doesn't make it big soon it is going to start becoming embarrassing.

Harry Hill to host Stars In Their Eyes?

Harry Hill could be the new host of a revival of classic singing competition Stars In Their Eyes.

Sooty set for his big screen debut

Britain's favourite yellow glove puppet bear Sooty is bracing himself for his big screen debut, RadioTimes.com can reveal.

Ponderings from the Friday Night Dinner cast

Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal give an insight into life in their own homes - from mischief to solitary playtime.

Celia Pacquola, Midnight Beast & Nathan Caton on comedy

Three acts explain how chocolate biscuits, Ke$ha and trying to act cool inspired their routines.

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Cariad & Louise's Character Hour, Lloyd Langford and Joseph Morpurgo.

News and Advice from Room to Write

There were common mistakes too... Too few jokes in a sketch. Obviously it is good if a sketch is built around a funny concept but it also needs lots of jokes throughout the sketch.

James Buckley talks about trailer worries

James Buckley has responded to the criticism faced by the trailer for The Inbetweeners 2.

Friday Night Dinner, review: 'a catastrophe on stilts'

The new series of Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner made for bleak and depressing television.

Friday Night Dinner's funniest moments

Friday Night Dinner is back - and if tonight's laugh out loud episode has left you begging for more then fear not.

Blazing trails

There is always a fine line between appropriation and copying.

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: smuttiest jokes

As BBC Radio 4 agrees not to tone down I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, here are some of the show's smutty Samantha jokes over the past four decades.

The Freddie Farrell three minute interview

Now that Freddie Farrell is a family man, he's trying his best to be responsible. Unfortunately life has other plans. But with the likes of Joe Lycett and Dan Nightingale as fans his future in stand-up comedy looks bright. He talks to Martin Walker via email about his Edinburgh show, Lock Stock and One Joking Farrell.

The Joe Bains three minute interview

Joe Bains hosts London's up-and-coming comedy club, Licence to Laugh, featuring comedians from the city's comedy circuit. Joe talks to Martin Walker via email about bringing his club to Edinburgh for August, swapping one capital for another.

The Ray Fordyce three minute interview

Ray Fordyce enjoyed last year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival so much he is back with what he promises is a bigger and better show. Martin Walker chats to Ray via email about his 11am compilation show at the Free Sisters.

The Roland Gent three minute interview

Would you give up a high flying sales job to manage England's worst radio station? Roland Gent did just that. Based in Greater Manchester it was one man's dream just to put a bit of rock'n'roll back into radio, set against an inner city background of gangsters, burnt out cars, drugs and dog fighting. Martin Walker chats to Roland via email to find out more.

The Angus Dunican three minute interview

Angus Dunican's performing two shows at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, The Bravery Test and The Great Indoors. Martin Walker talks to Angus via email about performing for relatives since he was nine and the joys of staying home.

The Terry McHugh three minute interview

As one of Ireland's newest comedians, Terry McHugh, makes his Edinburgh Fringe solo show debut with Reservoir Dad. Martin Walker talks to Terry via email about fatherhood, his comedic highs and lows and being an international yoyo champion.

The Abi Roberts three minute interview

Popular comedian, Abi Roberts, is bringing two shows up to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Her debut solo stand up hour is the intriguingly entitled Twerk in Progress, but Martin Walker first asks about her wholly original chat show idea, Musical CID.

The Alan Anderson three minute interview

This year Alan Andreson returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his globetrotting, comedy whisky show, Whisky for Dafties. Sample six malty, peaty beverages whilst Alan explains the history, methodology and lore of the great drink that is whisky. Martin Walker finds out more.

The Pete Firman three minute interview

You'll recognize Pete Firman from TV on Sarah Millican's show, Channel 4's Comedy Mash-Up or as a star of BBC One's The Magicians. But as he tells Martin Walker, it's at live stage shows were the magic works best.

The Sam Wills three minute interview

Sam Wills is an internationally renowned silent street performer, best known to UK audiences as his alter ego The Boy With Tape On His Face. Martin Walker briefly conversed with Sam by Twitter and by email, as the multi award winning mime was waiting for a flight.

The Abi Roberts Three Minute Interview

"I'm very excited about this show. It's on at the Gilded Balloon, every lunchtime. We have a different guest comedian on each show. I came up with the idea way back in 2009 and it's been sizzling underneath for a while until we did our first show in 2012, as a one-off experiment."

Seven questions with... Carl Donnelly

Stand up comedian Carl Donnelly is rapidly rising in popularity on the British comedy scene with appearances on Mock The Week and Russell Howard's Good News.

Edinburgh preview: Holly Burn

There have been a lot of male performers in recent years who have excelled at immersive, madcap lunacy. Adam Riches, Nick Helm and Dr Brown spring immediately to mind. But this is a type of comedy that women seem less drawn to, though I sense that that might be changing.