Press clippings Page 38
David Mitchell: Michael Gove meets his fate in trenches
Michael Gove wants to redefine what we think about the first world war, and it's going to be less like Blackadder. Well, I have a cunning plan for him...
David Mitchell, The Observer, 12th January 2014David Mitchell looks forward to 2014
All the news we have to look forward to in 2014, including a thrilling royal scandal.
David Mitchell, The Guardian, 29th December 2013The spirits are high but the japes are deliciously low-down and dirty as Rob Brydon twinkles with seasonal cheer for this Christmas helping of tall tales. Did Stephen Mangan's Bedlington Terrier get its name by wagging its tail at the gravestone of a man called John Samuels? Lee Mack tries to dig up the truth, alongside Barry Cryer and Miles Jupp, while Mangan's partners in guile are David Mitchell and Miranda Hart.
Carol Carter and Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Metro, 23rd December 2013"This is my cape," proclaims David Mitchell - words we've always wanted to hear him say. "I used to put it on to pretend I was Doctor Who and head into my Tardis, or as my parents called it, the airing cupboard."
Ahh, it's all too believeable, the kind of absurd but just-plausible-enough claim this series loves to tease us with. Equally tricky: does Miranda Hart begin every Christmas Day with a cigar in bed? Did Stephen Mangan name his puppy after a gravestone?
As usual, the panellists' festive fibs are great excuses for repartee, cross-examination and stories with more embroidery than a Downton dressing gown. But it's beautifully, stupidly funny, not least because everybody looks like they're having such a blast, so we do too.
David Butcher, Radio Times, 23rd December 2013He split opinion down the middle but, to our minds, Count Arthur Strong was the comedy hero of the year. So it's good to see the BBC Two sitcom and its star, Steve Delaney, up for three awards in the Comedy Awards. One of those is best new comedy programme, the winner of which is announced live in tonight's programme, ahead of next week's awards proper. Count Arthur is up against Plebs, Psychobitches and Cuckoo. Jonathan Ross is on hand for gong duties and to give a rundown of the other 14 prizes on offer. Familiar names abound, including Ant & Dec, Graham Norton, Miranda Hart and David Mitchell, plus there's welcome recognition for the genius of Getting On.
Carol Carter and Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Metro, 4th December 2013David Mitchell and Robert Webb have lost none of their comedy momentum: the series continues as energetically as it started last week. This time, the running sketch is Mitchell as the "Radio 4 sommelier", with suggestions for a wine that will augment the most laughs in each section of the show. The most unexpected hilarity comes in a scene set in a tavern close to Count Dracula's castle where the endless list of vampire lore - ward them off with water, crucifixes, garlic etc - is given a very funny new twist.
A final word of praise for the wonderful Olivia Colman, whose skills as a comedy actress are put to good use.
Jane Anderson, Radio Times, 3rd December 2013Voting lines open for British Comedy Awards 2013
Alan Carr, David Mitchell, Graham Norton, Jack Whitehall, Lee Mack and Sarah Millican have been nominated in the King Or Queen Of Comedy category at the British Comedy Awards 2013. Voting lines are now open.
British Comedy Guide, 27th November 2013Anyone who witnessed David Starkey's altercation with Victoria Coren Mitchell on Question Time earlier this year will not be surprised to learn he is namechecked not once but twice in this brilliant sketch show. David Mitchell proves that revenge is a dish best served cold and seasoned with plenty of laughs.
Jane Anderson, Radio Times, 26th November 2013David Mitchell attacks David Starkey in new series
The new series of That Mitchell and Webb Sound lambasts the TV historian six months after he was rude to Mitchell's wife Victoria Coren on Question Time.
Ben Dowell, Radio Times, 20th November 2013Comedians in politics: An open letter
Rupert, you hobble yourself from the outset by challenging something which no one is proposing: giving Steve Coogan a job outside of the Alan Partridge series. No one is saying that, not me, not you, not David Mitchell, not Russell Brand, not Robert Webb.
Bobby Friedman and Rupert Myers, The Huffington Post, 10th November 2013