Alan Carr

Back at the O2 for the fifth year on the trot, the country's finest gag merchants congregate to shake a tin in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital's prospective new operating theatre. Among the assembled funny people here are Lee Evans, Jack Dee, Alan Carr, Paddy McGuinness, Warwick Davis and Derek's Kerry Godliman. It's three hours long, but worth keeping half an eye on the commercial breaks, traditionally a place for Alan Carr to pop up with some lightly mirthful advert hijacks.

Now a regular fixture on the stand-up calendar, this is the fifth gala raising funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.

Filmed in May, more than 20 of the country's best-loved gagsters, including Michael McIntyre, Alan Carr, Jason Manford and Jo Brand, congregated at the O2 arena in London for a marathon of laughs that's been trimmed to a schedule-friendly three hours.

Warwick Davis and Diversity get the night off to a flying start, and if past years are anything to go by, it'll be worth sticking around for the commercial breaks too - you never know who might hijack the ads to shoe-horn in even more laughs.

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With The Graham Norton Show not due back on our screens until next month, here's a chance for Alan Carr to gain a ratings foothold in the Great Friday Night Chatshow Wars. The lineup for this returning episode of Chatty Man - Ricky Gervais and Gary Barlow - is a little underwhelming, but at least Gervais is bringing Muppets Most Wanted co-stars Kermit The Frog and his identical nemesis Constantine along for some felt fun. Barlow's contribution sounds less enticing: a performance of his new soft-rock single, Since I Saw You Last.

Nipping in a week ahead of his big Friday night rival Graham Norton, Alan Carr (left) kicks off a new series of lippy chat and louche one-liners by inviting Ricky Gervais and Jessica Hynes to lock comedy horns. Those two can give as good as they get, so it could be a riot. Calming things down will be Gary Barlow, continuing on his highly successful solo comeback with new single Since I Saw You Last.

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