Bill Bailey (II)

Bill Bailey: Bill's excellent adventure

Comedian, musician, actor, educator, saviour of unwanted puppies and endangered owls... you name it, Bill Bailey has been it - and loved every minute.

Opinion: Stand-ups can also stand out in documentaries

Television seems to be going through one of its phases where it gives comedians interesting jobs rather than just going "ooh look, how about a nice panel game/quiz show to be charismatically spontaneous on?" Last week Victoria Wood was poured all over our screens talking about tea. For the next two Sundays Bill Bailey is going to be in the jungle.

Bill Bailey talks about his latest show, Qualmpeddler

'It's about reflecting ideas and thoughts that float about in an intangible way'

Bill Bailey in a pink jumpsuit can't be all bad

The comedy sketch show has scuppered many a talented performer and, in its more tumbleweed moments, it appeared as though It's Kevin (BBC2) was destined to join the ignoble list of failed efforts. But there was just enough originality in Kevin Eldon's attention-deficit approach to the genre to grant him the benefit of the doubt.

Bill Bailey interview

Few celebrities can boast a career as varied as funnyman Bill Bailey - but his role as a Prostate Cancer UK ambassador is one he's serious about.

Search on for the next Jack Whitehall

Every year begins with such optimism, the trick is to believe that it is all going to work. I've got to believe that I am going to find the next Bill Bailey, Tim Minchin or John Bishop. That's what I will be aiming for at least.

2013 comedy preview: Alexei Sayle and Harry Hill return

Plus Bill Bailey presents his dub version of Downton Abbey and catch US comic Sarah Silverman for one night only.

Threesome review: Series 2, episode 1

Threesome, everyone's favourite Ménage à trois-based comedy is back, with a whole sack of one-liners, a bed-full (three, appropriately) of top class guest stars in the shape of Bill Bailey, Robert Webb and Joe Thomas, and a first episode that delivers laughs, even if it did leave the plot and characterisation at the sorting office.

QI, the cleverest comedy on television, is back on our screens this week. It's now in double figures series-wise, (tenth series and not eleventh, as has been advertised in some quarters); although in terms of the alphabet it's only up to "J".

This first episode of this series covers the subject of "Jargon" - and words beginning with "J" - and featured Jimmy Carr, Bill Bailey and newcomer Victoria Coren on the panel alongside regulars Stephen Fry and Alan Davies. Topics included dictators and their hatred of jazz, the first use of "OMG", and a lot of jizz.

In fact, the opening episode was rather smutty. Following on from a question about jizz (a bird-watching term for recognising a bird from a long distance by its shape), the panel, mostly Carr, performed quite a lot of rude material. I know that some people on the QI forums hated this, saying it was too rude for such a programme. But these critics should bear in mind that only a little while ago QI tried to be less rude when it was pre-watershed on BBC One and it failed miserably. People didn't like it, so now it's back in its old post-watershed slot on BBC Two - and now people are complaining about the show being too rude. Whenever the questions are lewd someone suggests it's 'dumbing down'. Yet whenever the questions are clever someone says it's not 'being funny enough'. I wish some people would make their minds up...

Series J is becoming notable for reasons other than perceived rudeness. For starters the "General Ignorance" round has been scrapped, because the panel were getting too wise to it and not going for the klaxon answers. Now the General Ignorance questions are spread out more to catch people out. I'm a bit worried about that, to be honest. It's a bit like Have I Got News for You getting rid of "Missing Words", Mock the Week scrapping "Scenes We'd Like to See", or Celebrity Juice getting rid off... well, whatever they have on Celebrity Juice (I can never bring myself to watch). However, it's best to wait and see after a few episodes if the re-shuffle works.

The other notable thing about this series is the guests. There are more women appearing on it. Next week's episode will be the first in which all the guests are women, which I can't remember happening on another panel show...ever. And some of the new guests are pretty experimental; they haven't even appeared on British TV yet. New Zealander Cal Wilson appears in a fortnight's time. She was on The News Quiz this week and seemed to cope alright, so hopefully she will put in a good performance.

I know some people will complain it's too rude, or it's dumbed down, or the guests are not good enough, but you can't please everyone. In the end, so long as it keeps being interesting and surprising QI will be good enough for me.

Oh joy and jubilation. Those jocose jackanapes and jovialists are back with - yes you guessed it - an edition featuring weird and wonderful questions related to the letter J.

Along the way we discover that OMG and "unfriended" are not contemporary expressions, but by the time the two teams have gone through the multiple (and often rude) definitions of jigger, it all degenerates into a bout of schoolboy sniggering that's strangely infectious. Even the usually urbane Stephen Fry is reduced to giggles. It is, says Jimmy Carr (possessor of an extraordinary foghorn laugh), the most fun he's ever had on the show.

What may astound you almost as much as Alan Davies not coming last this time is Bill Bailey's knowledge about subjects as diverse as bird watching and cognitive dissonance. Just goes to show he's no jolterhead.