Danny Dyer

The irrepressible Alan Carr returns for a 14th series of his charmingly goofy chat show tonight, in which his guests reveal just as much about themselves by the way they react to his Bombay mix and WKD-style of hospitality as from any of the comic's proper questions. On the sofa and partaking in Carr's eccentrically stocked drinks trolley will be The Voice judges - Will.i.am, Ricky Wilson, Tom Jones and the madcap Rita Ora - joined by Antonio Banderas and Danny Dyer. Ella Henderson provides the music.

Radio Times review

The last time Cameron Diaz was on The Graham Norton Show he slightly lost his grip. Give Diaz an inch and she'll launch into one of her daffy monologues about dating or - as happened last time - what you might describe as women's personal grooming.

On that occasion she had Richard Ayoade quietly dying next to her; this time Ricky Gervais and Ben Stiller will be on hand, partly to publicise their latest Night at the Museum movie and partly to keep La Diaz in check. Her co-star in the Annie remake, Jamie Foxx, is also squeezing onto the sofa, as is EastEnders' Danny Dyer and Australian comic actress Rebel Wilson. It's quite a line-up.

Agreeable standup and Fresh Meat star Jack Whitehall moves the Edinburgh fringe chat show he did with his dad (a former theatrical agent) to BBC Three. It's Adam Buxton and Bad Dad for the under-30s. And their first two guests are quite the mixed bag. Disdainful Newsnight prober Jeremy Paxman lines up next to right-barrel-o-monkeys paranormal investigator and actor Danny Dyer. No previews available, sadly, but Paxman with his tie off is always good fun.

Matt Lucas has had his mum on his show, so comedians bringing a parent on board to share the presenting load is not entirely unprecedented. And the son-and-father team of Jack and Michael Whitehall has already been successfully road-tested on Million Pound Drop and live comedy shows. But a chat show is a tough act to pull off, so it will be interesting to see if the pair's fractious but affectionate relationship works its magic and gets their guests to open up. First to submit to a Whitehall grilling are Jeremy Paxman - on the receiving end for once - and new EastEnder Danny Dyer.

It's already been proven that father and son are a winning team: they earned £300,000 for charity on Channel 4's Million Pound Drop, sold out comedy shows together and even written a book.

So the portents are good for this new chat show, especially as their on-screen partnership usually comes over as natural, unforced and, yes, funny.

The impudence that some equate with posh young pup Jack in both sitcom and stand-up should be kept in check by the superbly dry, David Starkey[/o]-alike Whitehall Sr. But how will they handle Paxo and new EastEnder Danny Dyer in this first outing?

For the debut of his brand new chatshow, Jack Whitehall's got the two hardest men on British TV sharing a sofa: Jeremy Paxman and Danny Dyer.

Guests aside, this new series is all about another double act - the one between Jack and his 73-year-old father, Michael, a former showbiz agent.

You might have seen them paired up on the Million Pound Drop, but that didn't really give you much idea of Whitehall senior's dry sense of humour and poker-faced delivery.

They've previously done a show together at the Edinburgh Fringe, and they've just published a book called Him And Me - a joint memoir in which they write a chapter each.

In the chat show role of second banana, Michael acts as saboteur, even ganging up with Paxman to point out Jack's failings as an interviewer, as a student and as a son, generally.

"It's literally like having two of my dads here," wails Jack at one point.

Danny Dyer's colourful language could be the reason why this is now being screened half an hour later than originally scheduled.

There's no shortage of chatshows on TV right now, but this is different enough to carve out its own territory.

Still Game star's fury BBC keeping money from Scotland

Still Game star Greg Hemphill vents fury over BBC shelling out cash for Danny Dyer to appear on EastEnders but keeping money from Scots programmes.

A playful disregard for historical accuracy and some strong comic turns, most notably from Ryan Sampson as dimwit slave Grumio, make Rome-com Plebs a more enjoyable watch than its ropey-looking trails suggest. Plus, Danny Dyer pops up in an episode. Get up to speed on the ITV Player.

Maybe it's the fact that togas are just so darn saucy but there's something irresistibly comical about Ancient Rome. In the noble tradition of Up Pompeii!, Plebs (ITV2) is the latest sitcom to play the old Empire for laughs. And titter I did.

It could afford to up the raunch factor, with opening episode The Orgy surprisingly shy of flesh. But Tom Rosenthal's central character, Marcus, makes a sweet prude amid a sea of debauchery and his servant Grumio (Ryan Sampson), surfing a wave of northern camp, is a guaranteed scene-stealer. 'You never see a dog with a towel,' he observed of his drip-dry post-shower regimen. Fair point.

The cultural connection between Ancient Rome and classic ska and reggae is lost on me, but oddly it's an inspired one, with tunes such as Double Barrel by Dave & Ansel Collins giving the action a sun-kissed spring. And any show that chops Danny Dyer's head off has to be worth a second look.

Tom Rosenthal interview

Tom Rosenthal talks about his role in Plebs, Danny Dyer, and what it was like filming the show...