Alex Hardy (I)

Alan Davies: 'I didn't react well to fame.'

Overnight success left the comedian in an emotional mess and unable to do stand-up, but he's finally ready again for the Edinburgh Fringe.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

A brief look at some Fringe acts.

The 12 must-see comedians at Edinburgh Fringe 2014

A selection of a dozen comics to see at the Fringe.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival at various venues

The mecca of the comedy world opens its doors (or floodgates; there are 2,000-plus shows) from Wednesday until late August. The Times's list of 40 top Fringe picks is available online (thetimes.co.uk/edinburgh)

Last night's TV: Doc Martin

As Martin Clunes's melancholic doctor returns for his wedding day, the anthem could be: here comes the bride and gloom.

Explain yourself: Russell Kane

Russell Kane's comedy combines hyperactivity and pop culture with emotional depth.

Explain yourself: David Baddiel

When comedy became "the new rock'n'roll" in the 1990s, David Baddiel was at the vanguard.

Taking a quirk recognisable enough to be funny; and stretching it far enough away from reality to make it really funny - it's what 30 Rock does so well and it's what you could see substantial flashes of in Comedy Lab's iCandy, and especially in Happy Finish, which lived up to its name as the stronger second offering. For Happy Finish, the nascent gems were many; including a Department of Internet Hate - a ministry focused solely on posting mean comments on web forums ("that was gay to the power of Freddie Mercury times Brokeback Mountain."); and a dead boyfriend failing to reconnect with his live girlfriend through a medium, because he can't remember identifying traits such as her favourite film.

To get to a 30 Rock, you have to break lots of eggs, and it's encouraging to see glimmers of its superbness in Comedy Lab. Now the challenge goes out to us as viewers to be patient enough when some bits of shell get into the mix - and to the commissioners, to give the best bits room enough to grow.

Was Life of Riley made to test varying levels of Alzheimer's? Beginning its second run, the "jokes" fitted distinct categories: things that were topical/funny two years ago (self-service checkouts); ten years ago (self-help books); only to dimwits (falling over during a trust exercise); or never (Caroline Quentin's mumsy character - woops! - making a chocolate cast of her hubby's hairy bum). Its laughter track should have said "Gah!" and "Eeeg!" - but instead rollicked along and even seemed to positively discriminate, the higher hilarity-count for Nana's gags about boiled eggs and tea only explainable by a BBC effort to counteract recent allegations of ageism. Big Top, The Persuasionists, now this: anyone with their BBC comedy glass understandably more than half empty had better go to Dave at 10.20pm tonight for emergency care - the excellent Psychoville is rerunning and proves that somewhere Aunty still has a live and kicking funnybone.

If you thought that George Galloway pretending to be a cat on Big Brother was bizarre, ITV1 has cranked up the weird-o-meter with this programme, which must have been conceived after a heavy-drinking session among channel executives. It involves one famous person doing an impression of another - a concept that could result in an awful abyss of ineptitude and sycophancy, with Stephen Mullhern's commentary digging it into an even deeper hole. But read this line-up and defy yourself not to be horribly compelled to watch. Joe Pasquale as Lady Gaga, David Gest as Sir Tom Jones, Jerry Hall as Katie Price, Christopher Biggins as Boris Johnson, Vanessa Feltz as James May, Tim Healy and Paul Daniels as an elderly Ant and Dec. Pardon?