Press clippings
Great TV is wasted on BBC Three
It's the home of excellent original commissions like Just Act Normal - but are enough people watching?
Sarah Carson, i Newspaper, 19th April 2025
Romesh Ranganathan's five favourite children's books - for all ages
The comedian, author, and father of three on the reads your kids will actually enjoy.
Anna Bonet, i Newspaper, 19th April 2025Graham Linehan: It will take decades to undo the trans movement damage
The co-creator of The IT Crowd and Father Ted celebrated the Supreme Court's landmark ruling on trans women this week, after years of being cast out over his views.
Andrew Billen, The Times, 18th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
Improbably, the feel-good factor prevails.
Michal Boncza, Morning Star, 18th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
Adapted from Tom Michell's memoir by the ever industrious Jeff Pope, The Penguin Lessons begins in 1976, when Michell (Steve Coogan) is a somewhat disaffected English teacher, beginning a new post in a private school in Argentina.
Philip Caveney, Bouquets & Brickbats, 18th April 2025
Who should host the British Saturday Night Live?
Having discussed how Saturday Night Live's sketches might be adapted for the British remake yesterday, Lorcan Mullan now turns his attention to the hosts...
Lorcan Mullan, Chortle, 18th April 2025
Little Britain was 'cancelled' in 2020 - so why does Gen-Z adore it?
Once deemed a national embarrassment for its racist and classist content, the series is now fuelling an online resurgence and rumours of a revival thanks to its growing fanbase of young fans discovering clips on TikTok.
Anya Ryan, The Independent, 18th April 2025
Steve Coogan interview: "There's no such thing as a no-go area in comedy"
His reputation as an irascible, press-hating leftie is no longer accurate - thanks to a penguin, Partridge and some crows' feet.
Ed Cumming, The Telegraph, 18th April 2025
Why the UK version of Saturday Night Live is doomed to fail
Recreating SNL for a UK audience makes sense on paper, and likely makes sense to executives on the top floor of Sky, but not much where else.
Derek McArthur, The Herald, 17th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
Not even Steve Coogan and his cute pet can save this twee tale.
Tim Robey, The Telegraph, 17th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
A sweet, inoffensive tale starring Steve Coogan.
Kevin Maher, The Times, 17th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
Stark political reality of 1970s Argentina and zoological farce fail to gel in glib story of an English teacher abroad.
Jonathan Romney, The Financial Times, 17th April 2025
My four-part guide to making sure the British SNL isn't a flop: Part 1 - the sketches
It should come as no surprise that Sky announcing a British version of the 50-year American institution Saturday Night Live was greeted with the usual 'American shows don't work in Britain/British shows don't work in the US, as long as you ignore all the ones that have' articles.
Lorcan Mullan, Chortle, 17th April 2025
Roy Hudd gets theatre poster-style headstone
The widow of entertainer Roy Hudd has praised the "fantastic" theatre poster-style headstone placed at his grave.
Laura Devlin, BBC, 17th April 2025
Steve Coogan on his very unusual new comedy
"The penguin takes the edge off the fascism."
Annabel Nugent, The Independent, 17th April 2025
SNL UK is on the hunt for new talent - it should look to our stages
Across the UK is a huge reservoir of stage performers with comedic instincts making short-form content (which is, ultimately, what SNL is) in their changing rooms or between jobs.
Alex Wood, What's On Stage, 16th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
Steve Coogan's English teacher takes up a position at a boarding school in Buenos Aries in the 1970s, where a military coup and a penguin upend his life.
John Nathan, The Jewish Chronicle, 16th April 2025
Just Act Normal review
To watch this wonderful show is to see stars being born.
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian, 16th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
Starring Steve Coogan as a jaded teacher in 1970s Argentina, The Penguin Lessons is a whimsical misfire.
Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 16th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
Think Dead Penguins Society.
David Jenkins, Little White Lies, 16th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
Steve Coogan seabird comedy drama tries to sell feelgood mood.
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 16th April 2025
Just Act Normal creator Janice Okoh on class, comedy and the one joke white people won't get
Janice Okoh on her pride that her new BBC3 comedy Just Act Normal has 'darker-skinned, working class black girls' in the central roles.
Janice Okoh, The Big Issue, 16th April 2025
The Penguin Lessons review
English teacher Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) takes up a role at a boarding school in Argentina in 1976, where a military coup -- and the accidental adoption of a penguin -- upend his life.
Helen O'Hara, Empire, 15th April 2025
Why Just Act Normal is the best showcase for new talent since Adolescence
Incredible newcomers! Chickens! Jamelia! The casting director of Stephen Graham's Netflix smash hit has done it again with this hilariously bleak, utterly unique series. The cast open up.
Stuart Heritage, The Guardian, 15th April 2025
Jack Rooke on what's next after Big Boys
The BAFTA winner discusses a Netflix pilot he's working on, being inspired by Phoebe Waller-Bridge to write his own Killing Eve and wishing that Hulu knew they had his show on their platform.
Alex Ritman, Variety, 14th April 2025
Naked Billy Connolly mural unveiled in iconic Glasgow location
The self-initiated work can be found in the city's Nelson Mandela Place.
James Walker, The National (Scotland), 14th April 2025
Ofcom criticises Katherine Ryan for plugging products on live TV
Katherine Ryan went too far in gushing about a brand she had been paid to promote when she appeared on live TV, broadcast watchdog Ofcom has found.
Chortle, 14th April 2025
"Beautifully, awfully funny": why Withnail And I is my feelgood movie
The latest in our ongoing series of comfort movies is a pick for Bruce Robinson's cult British comedy.
Martin Pengelly, The Guardian, 14th April 2025
Helen Lederer: Comedy is about human stupidity - no AI can copy that
Tech companies are using authors' work - without their permission - to train AI to crack jokes. It won't work.
Helen Lederer, i Newspaper, 14th April 2025
The Cancellation Of Benny Hill review
What distinguished this from the usual talking-head/clip format was the clever idea of showing Benny Hill sketches to three Gen Z people. They were shocked by the racism and the fact that a woman bending down in suspenders while he leered was considered normal, which is perfectly fair. But, interestingly, they did still find that some of it funny, such as when Hill's character was interviewing a vicar who had his flies undone and Hill kept trying to cover it with a plant pot.
Carol Midgley, The Times, 13th April 2025