Alice Jones (I)

Panel shows: Can't they think of anything more original

Sometimes they can be brilliant, but there are only so many ways to make the pub quiz format funny.

Bad Education, Jack Whitehall's enjoyably puerile sitcom, has returned for a second series and this time around has to contend with Big School, another BBC school sitcom in which the main joke is that the staff are no more grown-up than the pupils. For my money, Whitehall's Abbey Grove edges Walliams' Greybridge in the comedy league tables, thanks mainly to its youthful anarchy. At 25, Whitehall is barely out of short trousers after all, and it is his admirable willingness to make himself look silly - often repellently so - that carries the show. He is ably supported in the staff room by an understated and terminally unimpressed Sarah Solemani and an unhinged, livewire Mathew Horne as the would-be trendy Head who wears neon trainers and lives for the banter.

The opening episode was defiantly gross-out, involving a swimming gala, toilet humour, nudity, and a disfiguring reaction to chlorine. Around the edges, it packed in a lot of good jokes, from hair puns to digs at Mumford and Sons. It's scattergun stuff, but the clearly gifted Whitehall should trust his writing and the performances to carry the comedy more. He resorts to off-colour, physical gags too often here, but that may just be start-of-term hijinks. Shows promise.

Judging a comedy award is no laughing matter

Jokes about racism, porn, cystitis... you get all sorts on the Fringe. But how do you spot the next big thing in stand-up? Alice Jones, a judge on this year's Edinburgh Comedy Awards panel, explains.

Comedy of the week: Bridget Christie, The Stand

Bridget Christie was ready to give up on stand-up last year, but thank goodness she didn't.

Acerbic Ed Miliband jokes have Jack Straw laughing

The Labour adviser turned stand-up Matt Forde came face-to-face with one of his subjects when Jack Straw showed up at his show this week.

Jigsaw: A comedy show that has got the ex-factor

When it comes to heartache they say time is a great healer. They don't say much about performing a comedy show about your ex, and another one with your ex. But that is what stand-ups Tom Craine and Nat Luurtsema are doing at the Fringe.

Fringe benefits for the comics staying away

The comedians are revolting! In August, London and anywhere outside of Edinburgh becomes a laugh-free zone as stand-ups decamp to the Fringe.

Fringe 2013: More than just fringe benefits

In 2011, sisters Lizzie and Sarah Daykin performed at the Fringe as Toby, a double act who struggled to keep a lid on sibling rivalries. Now they've thrown a third wheel - rising star Nathan Dean Williams - into the mix to become Thrice. For those who like their sketches to come with a dose of darkness.

Fringe 2013: More than just fringe benefits

The Norwegian winner of last year's Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer returns with his sophomore effort. Not an easy watch, but his mix of odd anecdotes and clowning makes his one of the most compelling voices of the moment.

The Invisible Dot: Funny peculiar

How has one of the country's smallest comedy venues managed to become an industry powerhouse, attracting big stars and discovering major talents? Alice Jones investigates.