Al Murray

Al Murray's Compete For Meat review: points for poultry

Compete for the Meat is diverting, bizarre and broad enough to entertain, and Dave material through-and-through. How much you enjoy it will ultimately depend on how much you like, or dislike, the beer, history and politics dispensing presenter.

Because heaven forbid that he should simply be allowed to stand on stage, interact with an audience and be funny, here's yet another new TV format for Al Murray's pub landlord, which he's been touting live for a while. He hosts a pub-style quiz in which ordinary contestants vie with a VIP celebrity team for the prize of a frozen chicken. There's no mercy for the defeated - "It's time for losers to lose!" - they must slope away to the jeering chant of "thick and slow". Thankfully there's plenty of "beautiful British name"-style opening banter. "Dog groomer? Disgusting. What do you do, make friends with them on Facebook?"

Al Murray has managed to spin an entire career out of a single character by engaging his audience with his Pub Landlord's familiar prejudices and weaknesses. Now the Landlord is back with a quiz show perfectly tailored to his needs - it's a rumbustious pub quiz, with additional physical challenges, that doesn't so much entertain the studio audience as soften them up. And with this hour-long show, there's plenty of opportunity for banter and no rush to get down to the quiz. In fact, although some of the questions are fair enough, this is not a show for quiz buffs. The clue is in the categories, which include animal noises and moustaches and in the grand prize, a frozen chicken. To be honest, we're in post-pub TV land (so why the 9pm timeslot?), and this is after hours with a vengeance. Did the guests on the celebrity top table - TV car dealer Dominic Littlewood, comedian Olivia Lee and ex-footballer Peter Shilton - have any idea what they were in for?

Al Murray returns in his Pub Landlord guise for this pub quiz-themed comedy gameshow in which contestants compete to win a frozen chicken. He's assisted by former Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon and a man in a giant frozen chicken costume called Mr Giblets. Those who score the fewest points in a round are branded "thick and slow" and sent to the "sin bin". Having an hour to fill, Murray spends ages bantering with Salmon, the crowd, the contestants and the celebrities at the "top table" (ex-footballer Peter Shilton, and TV stars Olivia Lee and Dominic Littlewood) before actually asking any quiz questions. It's all very silly and not remotely challenging but will no doubt entertain pub quiz fans after a couple of pints.

Al Murray's meat and greet

Television can take itself far too seriously. There's no danger of that with comedian Al Murray's new game show Compete for the Meat.

Compete for the Meat TV game show launched on Dave

Al Murray hosts a new quiz show being launched on Dave on Thursday May 19, 2011. But the prize isn't cash or a fast car. Contestants compete to win meat.

Al Murray TV quiz show to feature prizes of meat

Comic Al Murray is to host a new quiz in which contestants win prizes of meat.

For the meagre price of 5p per crisp packet to piggy-bank on this year's Comic Relief campaign, Walkers Crisps get the kind of publicity money can't buy.

This time there's no pretence at a socially responsible message (support British farmers! Eat crisps then go for a walk!), just an exhortation to scoff as many crisps as possible in the next month to support Stephen Fry, Al Murray, Jimmy Carr or Frank Skinner. While owner PepsiCo insists all Walkers advertising is targeted at adults, past years' Ofcom figures show that Comic Relief has the third highest child viewing figures of anything on TV.

The dozens of charities specifically funded by Comic Relief to tackle childhood obesity - such Dance Action Zone in Leeds, Girls Healthy Eating or the Merton Cycling Campaign, must be thrilled by the huge marketing bost for salty, fatty, junk food snacks.

Avalon TV confronted over advert for unpaid work

Avalon Television has blamed the "inexperience" of a staff member for the placing of an advert which threatened to contravene minimum wage laws by calling for performers to work on a new Al Murray show unpaid.