Christopher Stevens

Derek: The most cynical TV show I've ever seen

As the father of an autistic son, author Christopher Stevens finds Derek - Ricky Gervais's new comedy-drama about a care-home worker - vile, cynical and dishonest.

How a 'lost' Hancock script was brought back to live

A film script planned for - then rejected by - Tony Hancock has its first public reading. Christopher Stevens recounts his part in the rediscovery of a lost comedy masterpiece.

Steptoe And Son is 50 years old

Forget the laughter. It was the tears, a trickle of real grief, that announced a new kind of comedy on television half a century ago.

June Whitfield interview

As Ab Fab returns to our screens for a 20th anniversary special, June Whitfield talks about her six decades of work with the biggest names in the business.

When comedy was funny, there was no need for profanity

Many of today's stand-ups seem to think that abuse is amusing in its own right.

Kenneth Williams's diaries caused a sensation when they were edited and published after his death, apparently revealing that behind closed doors he was a brooding character at odds with his outrageous stage and screen persona. Fortunately, Christopher Stevens has since been granted access to the complete set of Williams's diaries and papers, forging the biography Born Brilliant from this fresh material. Whereas he remains a complex figure, the book's extracts should be enough to convince anyone that there was a lot more to the real Kenneth Williams than spite and misery.

Galton and Simpson look back in laughter

Sitcom giants Galton and Simpson - who met 60 years ago this month - tell The Telegraph that there is not enough rubbish on TV.