Ann Widdecombe

Ann Widdecombe is not afraid to put her head above a cultural parapet. Here she gives us pause for thought in Holy Week by questioning the way comedians now ridicule Christianity more freely than ever. She's not against a nice, old-fashioned joke about a vicar, you understand (Rev gets a guarded stamp of approval); it's jokes on panel shows casually mocking Jesus or sketches involving religious rites that offend.

Ann Widdecombe has been leading the Christian counterattack for years now - whatever your views on her politics and social attitudes, she's rarely dull. But is she the right person to address the vexed subject of comedy and Christianity? Well, as it happens, she's often quite funny, if not necessarily intentionally. For example, the reaction shots of her watching everything from Goodness Gracious Me to Monty Python's Life of Brian will raise a few sniggers.

Ann's indignation is easy to understand but hard to agree with. Sure, Christianity is much-mocked and plenty of the satire is both gratuitous and lazy. But what Widdy fails to accept is that, as Steve Punt puts it, 'The comedy itself is a reply.' For years, Christianity set the British agenda. Much of the humour is simply an acknowledgement of how much has changed. Oh, and she fails to mention Father Ted, an unforgiveable ommission from the point of view of both entertainment and analysis.

Ann Widdecombe: Christians are the butt of bad jokes

Gentle mockery or sharp satire aimed at Christians and their leaders has been replaced by abuse of Christianity itself.

An intelligent documentary from Ann Widdecombe, looking at the relationship between comedy and Christianity in Britain over recent years. The film's success is partly due to Widdecombe's staunch attitude to her subject. Mockery of religion is becoming increasingly offensive and she uses her passionate faith as a starting point to bounce off a diverse crew of contributors. Particularly revealing is a conversation with former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey about Monty Python's Life of Brian. Widdecombe dismisses the movie. Carey, however, loves it. "The mature Christian response is to have a sense of humour," he says.

Katy Brand: I'm going to try to be grown up on Strictly

As Katy Brand starts to train for her appearance on the Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing, in this week's Paper Tiger she reflects on the female stars of the show that have managed to change public perceptions about themselves, from Ann Widdecombe to Lisa Riley.

Robin Ince: Religion and atheism... and Ann Widdecombe

Having attended the Greenbelt festival, comedian Robin Ince declares there is room for both religion and atheism in a paradise on Earth...

Don't expect any Eamonn Holmes jokes in this series.

Last year the BBC had to issue a formal apology after sketches showed him eating the studio furniture and he took the view that imitation wasn't the sincerest form of flattery at all.

But Eamonn would be old news anyway, in impression terms. The key here is topicality, and Hilary Devey and Tulisa are just two of the new faces as Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson return for a third series.

The pair are superb mimics and it's a pleasant half-hour ticking off all the celebs you recognise.

Culshaw completely nails the way former MP Ann Widdecombe's voice keeps wandering off into that strange falsetto and Stephenson's Alex Jones is spot on.

It's just a pity the writers aren't keeping up their end of the bargain by giving them funnier material to get their teeth into.

The News Quiz returned for a 66th series, with subjects ranging wildly from the recession-driven return of the turnip to the reproductive organs of the bed bug. The best gag of the first edition was Francis Wheen's description of gun-toting vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin as the love child of Sylvester Stallone and Ann Widdecombe.

Placebo was a comedy pilot set in a hospital, where a drug to ease anxiety is being tested on male volunteers. It was Only When I Laugh with lots of swearing, and jokes about acne, urine, erections, Ann Widdecombe and penis seepage (one man wanted to know whether penis seepage means that your penis seeps, or that you seep penises). A series will almost certainly follow.