Alistair McGowan

It's back, with shiny new titles, Frank Skinner in place of Paul Merton and not one but three guests competing to have pet hates banished for ever. Robert Webb, Danny Baker and Fern Britton select peeves such as homework, sci-fi, PE and punk, but it has all the awkwardness of a bad dinner party and little of the easy, intimate wit and banter of the original show; the best fun to be had is Webb's seeming disdain for the rather tedious Britton, who seems to think she's on Grumpy Old Women. Maybe future contestants - among them Alistair McGowan, Josh Groban, Sarah Millican and Alice Cooper - will make this more likeable, though they'll have a job getting laughs from the likes of Gregg Wallace, Gabby Logan and Mark Lawrenson.

It's been a funny old year and Jason Manford and Alistair McGowan intend to milk it for laughs while they still can with a whole bunch of (mostly) family friendly topical gags that haven't had an airing yet on all those other topical comedy shows and are in danger of passing their sell-by date if they don't get used up soon.

Yes, it's Mock The Year, ITV style, with Phillip Schofield as host, plus a round-up of clips that made us laugh on the web - counted down by Come Dine with Me's Dave Lamb.

One comedian who had an excellent 2011 is Patrick Monahan, winner of ITV1's Show Me The Funny. He does well here, while we can only assume headliner Jason Byrne didn't get the email saying his material was supposed to be about 2011.

And don't miss tenor Alfie Boe with a performance that provides the best surprise of the night.

The return of this annual comedy special, which sees comedians deliver their verdict on the past year. Jason Manford, Alistair McGowan, Jason Byrne and Patrick Monahan join silvery-haired, perma-smiling host Phillip Schofield to run through their highs, lows, loves and loathes of the past 12 months. There's also an appearance from much-loved West End tenor Alfie Boe.

Trolls, giants and damsels abound in this clattering sword 'n' sorcery spoof, starring Stephen Mangan as Sam, left behind when all the rest of the questors go off doing the heroic action stuff. In comes Eirwen (Sophie Winkleman), a lovely maiden, saying he's saved her. But who comes next? Lord Darkness (Alistair McGowan) trying to conquer Lower Earth, if only his servant Kreech (Kevin Eldon) can work out how. Aha! Kreech has discovered a prophecy which dictates that the Lord must impregnate a hideous creature to bring forth the UnChosen One. Look out, Kreech...

Let's face it, fantasy isn't a hard genre to lampoon. But spoofs don't always click, as BBC2's Kröd Mändoon proved. Now in its third series, this chirpy sitcom works by virtue of the domestic trivia grafted on to the magical landscape. Stephen "He gets around a bit" Mangan returns as novelist Sam, who nobly volunteers to stay behind while the others set off to kill the man-munching Giant of Rankor (are writers Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto Star Wars fans?). Alistair McGowan tops the excellent cast as the scheming Lord Darkness. I loved his "sinister" incantations: "Volare, oh-oh... cantare..."

Alistair McGowan to front ITV sports panel pilot

You Cannot Be Serious is inspired by TV Burp and will be executive produced by Harry Hill.

Video: Alistair McGowan: Pygmalion's Higgins is me

Impressionist Alistair McGowan has admitted he will be playing himself when he takes over from Rupert Everett to play professor of phonetics Henry Higgins in the West End production of Pygmalion.

McGowan joins Kara Tointon at the Garrick Theatre from 15 August to tell the story of Eliza Dolittle, a cockney flower girl whom Higgins tries to pass off as a duchess for a bet.

Written by George Bernard Shaw in 1912, the play became hit film My Fair Lady in 1964, starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn, itself set for a remake starring Carey Mulligan as Eliza.

Audio: Alistair McGowan's bins searched by Daily Mirror

Alistair McGowan had his bins searched and personal information taken by Daily Mirror journalists when Piers Morgan was editor.