BCG Daily Thursday 8th June 2023

John Robins reveals struggle with alcohol

After realising he needed help, he attended a 12-step recovery programme and has not drunk alcohol since.

Ian Hislop hugs ITV at last

The scandal at This Morning has been a trial for the Private Eye editor Ian Hislop, who has had to break the habit of a lifetime and watch ITV so he understands how important the departure of Phillip Schofield really is.

Edinburgh Fringe 2023 programme launched

The 2023 Edinburgh Fringe programme featuring 3,013 shows has launched today.

A flavour of the Fringe: 10 shows to whet your appetite

Significant Other review

It's time to bring back British sitcoms that actually make you laugh.

Significant Other, ITVX, review

Katherine Parkinson is the only good thing about this forgettable romcom.

Plenty room for optimism as Edinburgh Festival Fringe reaches a crossroads

Scale of this year's programme is a vote of confidence in the event.

Edinburgh 2023: Joe White Q&A

Ethiopian and Still Not Hungry comes to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tom Houghton interview

"Reading was special, it was top of the list of venues I wanted to return to."

Underbelly to launch permanent London venue

Underbelly Boulevard in Soho will open in September 2023 and will stage cabaret, variety and musical shows.

Significant Other review

By starting with an overdose attempt and a heart attack, Significant Other couldn't signal its intentions to be an unconventional romcom any more clearly.

How I took my play Breathless to the Edinburgh Fringe - and why you should consider the Popcorn Award

For the second year here at BBC Writersroom we're joining up with the Popcorn Award, which celebrates the best new writing at the Edinburgh Fringe. One of last year's finalists, Laura Horton, explains what it has meant for her and her writing.

Tony! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera) review

If you're expecting an accurate political history lesson you'll be disappointed - although you may find things here that you didn't know. If on the other hand, you want an amusing but forgettable couple of hours going over the life of one of the most successful yet divisive characters in recent British history, then this is the place to be.

Revealed: Monty Python scenes that almost never made it

Guards stifling their titters at the name 'Biggus Dickus' and the tradesman who insists Brian haggle for a fake beard were almost dropped from the 1979 movie Life Of Brian, Julian Doyle has revealed. Doyle also worked on the Pythons' 1975 Holy Grail film - and said the three-headed giant scene was thought too slow and the Black Knight sketch so outrageously bloody that it would kill the rest of the film.

Significant Other review

The script feels like a first draft, the male lead is irredeemably selfish and the characters' actions are inexplicable. Katherine Parkinson's new show is cold, jarring and misanthropic.

Good Omens creator Neil Gaiman responds to love triangle theory

Fans reckon there could be a romantic plotline concerning Aziraphale, Crowley and Gabriel in the upcoming second season.

Tony! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera) review

The show moved so swiftly actors had little to grasp in terms of characterisation but managed to create a slew of caricatures (that is definitely the collective noun for caricatures) behind various wigs.

Harry Hill on being a "6 Music dad" and if TV Burp could return

The comedy icon also spoke about teaming up with Yard Act and Black Midi, and a new film in the works.

Edinburgh 2023: Elliot Steel Q&A

Love and Hate Speech comes to Underbelly this August.

Edinburgh 2023: Josh Jones Q&A

Gobsmacked runs at the Pleasance Theatre in Edinburgh this August.

Edinburgh 2023: Lindsey Santoro Q&A

Pink Tinge comes to this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

As Blackadder turns 40, Howard Goodall reveals musical secrets of classic comedy

The composer and broadcaster on playing with history, blasting off into the charts with Red Dwarf, the difficulty of musicals - and writing for streaming.

Morning Has Broken: the long-lost breakfast TV satire that makes Phil and Holly look normal

With its scheming stars and behind-the-scenes chaos, Julia Davis and Nick Mohammed's comedy pilot anticipated ITV's real-world woes.

Underbelly set to run Boulevard Theatre from September

Theatre, comedy and cabaret producer Underbelly has acquired the lease to Soho venue the Boulevard, with the intention of running it as a music, variety and cabaret venue.

I'll never throw out my DVD player - the woke police can't delete my box sets

These days there seem to be vanishingly few comedies that can be enjoyed by all the family. So recently, in desperation, I tried showing my son some of my favourite comedies from when I was young, instead.

The big name comics at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe you have to book right now

We pick out some of the star attractions guaranteed to sell out, so buy your tickets as soon as possible.

Edinburgh 2023: pick of the programme - theatre

Natalie O'Donoghue selects her top picks of the theatre section of the Edfringe programme.

From America With Love! US Comedian Myq Kaplan returns to Edinburgh Fringe

"The show is about love. And marriage. And growth. And psychedelics. And quantum physics. And love again. And video games. And everything. It would probably be best if you just saw it."