Ben Miller (I)

Well-spoken wits Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller return for a third run of their Bafta-winning sketch show. Characters include the German in-laws, roadkill cooks and old-style vampires baffled by the new Twilight generation. Best of all, the street-talking Second World War pilots turn up in Normandy on D-Day. The nature of the beast is that the humour is hit and miss, but the duo have enough charm to get away with it.

Alexander Armstrong & Ben Miller interview

Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller are back with a new series of their BBC1 sketch show. As well as old favourites the street-talking pilots, The Armstrong & Miller Show is packed with plenty of new characters too...

Ben Miller interview

"I have to admit. As I've got older I've really started to enjoy the travelling. It's the only time I get to myself. Sort of like a form of meditation."

Comedians refused to appear on a new BBC2 documentary about how disability is portrayed on TV - because they were scared they would say something offensive. Producer Kate Monaghan said: "A lot of them said no." But she still managed to sign up big names such as David Walliams, Stephen Merchant and Ben Miller for Are You Having a Laugh.

Comedians sign up for Ben Miller's new film

Comic Ben Miller recruited his dentist to persuade the cream of British comedy to appear in his new movie.

Interview: Ben Miller, comedian, actor

If comedy is all about timing, then I'm no Billy Connolly; we've only just met, and already Ben Miller is clearly trying very hard not to wince. But it turns out that his pain is intensely physical; earlier in the afternoon he was filming a stunt for the Catherine Tate Christmas special and wrenched his shoulder badly. However my timing is still off since I'm the only thing standing between him and a visit to a chiropractor. Stoically he insists it's no problem.

There's a certain kind of comedy snob who, if you admit to loving slapstick, looks pityingly at you as if you'd said lollipops were your favourite food. But think of the great sitcom moments and they're physical: Del Boy falling through that bar, Basil Fawlty thrashing his car with a branch, David Brent's dance... And that's before you get to the surrealism of, say, Monty Python's fish-slapping. So a big ker-tish on the cymbals to this one-off doc devoted to "the universal language of comedy". DVDs weren't available as we went to press, but we're promised a feast of clips, from Buster Keaton's collapsing house onwards, as well as sage comments from the likes of Vic Reeves, Ben Miller and Gavin & Stacey's Mathew Horne. And a great, clanging frying pan in the face for anyone who says it's childish.

A Christmas Carol has seen many film and TV incarnations over the years. But this is perhaps the most bizarre and clever of all a comic retelling with Catherine Tate's acid-tongued Nan as Scrooge.

The writers have taken some bleedin liberties with the original story (Tiny Tim is a dog and the ghost of Christmas Present wears skinny jeans) but its a laugh-fest from beginning to end.

The three ghosties are played by Ben Miller, Roger Lloyd Pack and an almost unrecognisable David Tennant, who all attempt to convince Nan to swap her miserly ways for some seasonal cheer.

From Laurel and Hardy's collapsing pianos to Reeves and Mortimer's oscillating frying pans, this diverting documentary traces the enduring appeal of physical comedy. While its origins are ascribed to a combination of anti-authoritarianism, sadism and reckless juvenility, clips illustrate the meticulous timing vital to the custard pie and the banana skin. Barry Cryer, Ben Miller and Graeme Garden are among the expert insight-dispensers; but what it all boils down to is Frank Spencer hurtling through a shopping precinct on roller-skates ("BETTY!"). Champion.

Twitcher Phil Mill (Star Stories' Steve Edge) was birdwatching near the Afghan border when he was detained by US marines, branded an al-Qaeda terrorist and dumped in the land of orange jumpsuits.

Six years on he's released with all charges dropped. But he's not bitter. "We all make mistakes," he shrugs, admitting that while water boarding wasn't pleasant, it was better "than the one where they spanked your knackers with a flip-flop".

Now back in the arms of girlfriend Carly, he's eager to return to his old life, his old flat and his old job.

Sadly, his flat is a pile of rubble and his job... Well, he worked at Woolworths. He has the kind of misfortune plaguing Ben Miller's character in The Worst Week Of My Life - no surprise as both shows are created by the same people.

So imagine the BBC series with a little Jimmy Carr-style insensitivity. You'll feel guilty laughing. But you will laugh.