Press clippings
French & Saunders and Alexei Sayle returning to Radio 4
French & Saunders and Alexei Sayle are returning to Radio 4, with the channel recommissioning Whatever Happened To Baby Jane Austen? and Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar, as well as Olga Koch: Ok Computer and the latest stand-up series from Ashley Blaker, Ashley Blaker's Hyperfixations.
British Comedy Guide, 17th July 2024Why are so many entertainers forced to work past retirement age?
From jobbing workers to familiar names, legions of entertainers are working well into their 70s and 80s. Why? Our writer uncovers an alarming story of shrinking budgets, axed royalties, misguided mortgages and paltry pensions.
Rachael Healy, The Guardian, 28th May 2024Laugharne Weekend line-up looks like strongest yet
On the comedy side the guests for the 2024 festival will include alternative stand-up legend Alexei Sayle, Confessions star Robin Askwith, Welsh comic Kiri Pritchard-McLean and festival regulars Isy Suttie and Robin Ince.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 18th October 2023Edinburgh Festival Fringe: 26 photos looking back at the Fringe in the 1980s
So many memories from August in Edinburgh in the 1980s.
Kevin Quinn, Edinburgh Evening News, 23rd July 2023Lenny Henry lands two Channel 4 shows
Lenny Henry is making two new television shows for Channel 4. In Legends Of Comedy, he interviews Paul Whitehouse, Alexei Sayle, Sally Phillips and Romesh Ranganathan. He is also writing a dark comedy drama pilot for the channel called Kriss Kross.
British Comedy Guide, 16th May 2023Comic Strip stars to celebrate series at BFI
Three screenings at the BFI this month will celebrate more than 40 years of the influential Comic Strip Presents series.
British Comedy Guide, 9th May 2023Alexei Sayle: 'When Corbyn came close to winning it was a glorious day'
The long-serving comic on disastrous gigs, childhood train journeys and the problem with traffic lights.
Rob Crossan, The Telegraph, 30th March 2023How The Young Ones changed comedy for ever
With flying eclairs, falling beds and exploding buses, the anarchic antics of Rick, Vyvyan, Neil and Mike shoved alternative comedy into the mainstream. Forty years on, we ask the show's creators how they pulled it off.
Phil Harrison, The Guardian, 12th November 2022Bonus-packed The Young Ones coming to Blu-ray
Iconic early "alternative comedy" sitcom The Young Ones has been comprehensively restored for a new Blu-ray release, which is to be packed with new and never-seen extra features.
British Comedy Guide, 28th October 2022What does 'alternative comedy' mean in 2022?
A scene that started as a counter to straight stand-up at the end of the 1970s is still hard to peg - but it's much more than just weird stuff that doesn't work on telly.
Rachael Healy, The Guardian, 29th June 2022