David Mitchell (I)

David Mitchell: The internet is 'medievally barbaric'

David Mitchell, presenting a new BBC Radio 4 series on manners, says politeness is underrated and the internet is full of rudeness. Harry Wallop chats to him to find out how he holds his knife and fork.

Radio Times review

Radio Times Top 40 TV Shows of 2015, #25:

It all ended this year, in true Peep Show style, with both a bang and a whimper. Never before has a programme's grand finale combined a kidnapping, urine-drinking, Delia Smith, and a jibe about overpriced coffee with such effortless pizzazz. Our heroes ended up alone, but together, and a fate any less dysfunctional wouldn't have rung true. Such was the joy of Peep Show: though Mark (David Mitchell) and Jez (Robert Webb) lived a life none of us would hope to emulate, from the bleakness emerged moments of familiarity. Who didn't recognise Mark's constant struggle - Kenneth Clark's Civilisation and sea bream, or Octopussy and a Twirl?

Now every bit as much of a festive tradition as hangovers, DFS adverts and running out of milk the second all the shops close, Channel 4's holiday stalwart returns. In a year that saw such events as people arguing over The Dress, Taylor Swift biting chunks out of Apple or bewigged omnifarce Donald Trump being consistently terrible, there's certainly plenty to cover, so it's lucky that Rob Brydon, David Mitchell, Greg Davies and Jo Brand are on standby to cock their respective snooks at 2015's most mockable stories.

Artist has Mark Corrigan tattoo on his leg

Tom Wagstaff made the lasting tribute to the Channel 4 show which follows the trials and tribulations of Corrigan, played by comedian David Mitchell.

Video: Mark and Jeremy age 12 years in 30 seconds

​Remember those viral videos where people took a photo of themselves everyday for 49 years? Just imagine if Peep Show​'s Mark (David Mitchell) and Jeremy (Robert Webb) got bored - not a huge stretch- and did the same...

Radio Times review

Harry Hill returns as the multi-spectacled boffin of Norman Hunter's children's books. After Branestawm's TV introduction last Christmas, his cartoonish adventures are once again adapted by in-demand writer Charlie Higson. This time the chocolate-box village of Pagwell is, fortuitously, hosting an invention contest. But has Branestawm met his match in the ingenious Professor Algebrain (Steve Pemberton)?

Among an extraordinary cast giving fruity performances are Diana Rigg, Simon Day, Vicki Pepperdine, Matt Berry and his absurd intonations, Sophie Thompson and David Mitchell. From the clips available to RT, it's wildly eccentric, old-school and very funny - with a barking mad chase sequence.

Radio Times review

Before I started watching this I thought, "I wonder if they'll add some sleigh bells over the thrashy theme music" and I'm delighted to say they have. There's also a spangly snowflake backdrop and several Christmas-themed claims/tales/festive fibs.

To wit, "These are two of the best gifts I was given last Christmas," announces David Mitchell, flourishing a top hat and magic wand and prompting all of us to try to picture what Christmas Day might be like at the Coren Mitchells.

But the best prop arrives when Bill Bailey introduces a pet bird called Jacob, that he claims he once smuggled into the cinema with him. The fact it's a cockatoo is heroically ignored, even by Lee Mack: no pre-watershed-unfriendly gags here (although why Mitchell's enthusiastic mime of church bell-ringing gets a laugh might take some explaining). Kelly Holmes, Jo Brand and Ruth Jones add to the mendacious merriment.

Radio Times review

So, after nine series, this is the last-ever Peep Show. Creators Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong make every scene and every word count in a final, hilarious dose of era-ending, squirm-inducing mayhem.

Will Robert Webb and David Mitchell's El Dude Brothers, Jez and Mark, suddenly become Trotter-style winners? Will Jez and Super Hans succeed with their outrageous plot to get April's husband Angus out of the way? Will Jez face 40 without lying to his boyfriend?

While die-hard fans probably already have a good idea about the answers to these and other questions, they will not be disappointed by the excruciating, downbeat brilliance of this fabulous curtain call. This is a classic comedy that will be sorely missed.

David Mitchell: don't ban Donald Trump, laugh at him

How should we respond to would-be President Trump's latest outrage? Point a figure and shout Eeeeuuuurrrggghhh!

Peep Show: 32 brilliant quotes from seasons 1 to 9

Peep Show is nearing its end. The finale of David Mitchell and Robert Webb's ninth series will air tonight. To comiserate, we've cast our minds back over the invaluable reflections on life the pair have given us over the years. From the philosophical to the practical, this is the world according to Mark and Jez.