BCG Daily Friday 26th September 2014

Billy Connolly's joy at working with child stars

What We Did On Our Holiday sees the makers of Outnumbered bring their popular vein of semi-improvised comedy to the big screen. Scotland's Billy Connolly reveals why he got involved.

Radio Times review

This show's teams are so quick and on-the-comedy-ball, some guests barely get a look in. In this edition, it's Adil Ray - of Citizen Khan - who takes a back seat as the likes of Bob Mortimer and Lee Mack steer the WILTY charabanc to unlikely places.

Mortimer is on great form, making out that as a teenager he was banished from Castle Douglas for frightening the locals. As he piles on implausible details (a friend called Steve Bytheway, latex masks, and so on) with a straight face, you can't help feeling he's taken his flight of fancy too far. Or is it the old trick of elaborating an anecdote to make it sound ridiculous?

Also peddling tall tales are Kian Egan from Westlife, who may or may not have bid for his own waxwork, and Mel Giedroyc with, suitably enough, a cake-based story. It involves David Bowie.

Radio Times review

An evening on the Graham Norton sofa in the first of a new series might be just what Doctor Who Peter Capaldi needs, what with all the hoo-ha of recent months, and that huge world tour. Everyone's entitled to a little rest, surely?

Now we'll find out what Capaldi thinks of the reaction to his creation. And can Norton succeed where others have failed and prod him for clues as to the future of companion Clara? Doubtless listening closely will be Denzel Washington, star of a new film based on the fondly remembered 1980s series The Equalizer, and Gemma Arterton, star of the Made in Dagenham West End musical. The musical guest is George Ezra.

80 shows across Birmingham in comedy extravaganza

The Birmingham Comedy Festival runs for 10 days from October 3 and features 150 acts in 80 performances across the city.

What We Did on Our Holiday review

David Tennant and Rosamund Pike play the put-upon parents of three kids in this feature-format development of Outnumbered.

What We Did On Our Holiday review

Some would have blanched at making this anything other than either a wild farce or a much darker comedy, but it's in that mid-ground, where other comedy directors may fear to tread, that Hamilton and Jenkin thrive.

Stephen Fry: I took cocaine at Buckingham Palace

Writer and presenter tells readers of his new autobiography how he 'brought noble properties into squalid disrepute'.

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Dave Gorman, Sheeps and Joe Wilkinson.

James Acaster's top of the cops

The comic from Kettering outs himself as an undercover cop and reveals the fictional feds who inspired him.

Lee Evans, the O2 - comedy review

In his latest show, Monsters, Lee Evans remains a master of uncomplicated escapist entertainment.

Mackenzie Crook on Detectorists

Whether or not you find the pastime interesting, the idea is intriguing. In the past few months, when telling people what I've been working on, the reaction has been strangely positive.

Andrew O'Neill's History Of Heavy Metal review

The metal-loving community - if that's such a thing - is certainly large enough to sustain Andrew O'Neill's genre-specific comedy, so it's to his credit that he plays wider without alienating or patronising either side.

Graham Norton Show returns: 10 classic hilarious moment

Hoorah! The Graham Norton show is back to fill our Friday evenings with post-pub fun. We select a few of our favourite titbits from the show's last two series...

Lee Evans - Monsters review

The main problem with Monsters, though, is that most observations are built on weak foundations.

Q&A: Paul Merton

Born in Fulham, Paul Merton, 57, made his standup debut at London's Comedy Store in 1982.

Meet the contestants: Heat Three - Cardiff, 2014

This week's New Comedy Award heat was recorded in Cardiff and hosted by John Robins.

Film Preview: Amar, Akbar & Tony

An interview with Atul Malhotra.