Bruce Dessau

It does not say much about broadcasters' confidence in new writing when they fall back on reviving something tried and tested. There seems to be a lot of this about at the moment. It has just been confirmed by the BBC that Martin Clunes is going to recreate the classic lead role made famous in the seventies by Leonard Rossiter, in a remake of The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin. It will now be called simply Perrin and no doubt there will be lots of headlines about Reggie behaving very badly.

Clunes is always good value and quality writer Simon Nye is working on it with Reggie's creator David Nobbs, which sounds good. The only thing that worries me is that we have slightly been here before with The Legacy of Reginald Perrin, the 1996 series that, unlike the forthcoming version gathered together original cast members, but like the forthcoming version, lacked the real star, Leonard Rossiter, due to Rossiter being dead. Which is a bit like Hamlet without Hamlet.

Stand-Up On The Box

Does stand-up comedy work on TV? It's a question regularly asked by TV people and we are about to find out again. The stand-up showcase Live At The Apollo is due to fill the Jonathan Ross-shaped hole on BBC1 from Friday 28 November.

Olivia Colman Interview

Olivia Colman moves from Peep Show to play mum in the mildly potty Beautiful People. The Times gets acquainted.

Is Katy Brand the new Catherine Tate?

The Evening Standard's Bruce Dessau interviews Katy Brand about the second series of her show.