David Mitchell (I)

They're back! Let's meet the team: "Hello. I'm Jimmy Carr and even though I don't really fit here because my one-liners are better when they're apolitical, my monologues are still the best thing on the show."

"Hi, I'm David Mitchell. I'm going to do some uncomfortable interviews, where I'm not really at my best."

"I'm Charlie Brooker. I'm going to do Screenwipe, only live."

"I'm a token woman."

Ah, we're poking fun, of course. There were good things about 10 O'Clock Live, in the end (at least it's not a panel show. Yet). And this shorter running time and willingness to be a bit looser should help. If they killed everyone in the audience, that'd be even better, but perhaps asking a bit much for this series.

Radio 4's long-running The Unbelievable Truth, basically an update of Call My Bluff, seems to be the exception to the panel show rule in its capacity to entertain. This isn't surprising when you consider it was devised by the same people who dreamt up I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Granted, it has the same rotation of comedians - Jack Dee, Rufus Hound and Lee Mack were this week's guests - and is hosted by David Mitchell, a Stephen Fry-in-waiting who appears pathologically incapable of turning down work. But what it has going for it is an intellectual curiosity that this week turned up such invaluable facts as the radioactive properties of Brazil nuts, Florence Nightingale's love for her pet owl and Indonesia's 17 million boy scouts. The Unbelievable Truth wipes the floor with the competition. If only it could make the competition disappear altogether.

David Mitchell: 2012 won't be your year

For certain people in the public eye, the coming 12 months will truly be an annus horribilis. Let's look back at some of the highlights of the past year's silly seasons...

Looking a little like that Blackadder Christmas special set in Dickensian London, except with CGI backgrounds and ludicrous special effects, The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff was a very odd thing. After no time at all you'd already been whacked with multiple gags - at an estimated rate of one throwaway line per demi-minute - to the point they were coming at you so fast, there was no time to discern whether or not a statue of the Duke of Wellington carved from pineapple or a 'jam spaniel' were funny or not. The hit rate was far from perfect, but with such a rampant flurry of wilful stupidity, it was hard to feel cheated.

The story, which ultimately rambled into near-incoherence, saw Robert Webb as Jedrington Secret-Past (silly names were par for the course), pitted against Stephen Fry's evil lawyer, Malifax Skulkingworm, effectively a Melchett-esque villain who was out to bankrupt him over a debt his grandfather had worked up in the distant past. Katherine Parkinson put in a decent turn as Jedrington's treacle-addicted wife, and there were also cameos from the likes of David Mitchell as a workhouse owner who inexplicably inflated every time he got excited. And Johnny Vegas showed up for no real reason too.

This was written and crafted by the people behind Radio 4's Bleak Expectations, and that radio link was clear to see. This was obviously a transfer of sorts, with the kind of script that would work perfectly on radio, with all those strange descriptions of things like 'treacle-fiends' and Big Ben's cousin, 'Tiny Terry' firing the imagination with their idiotic simplicity. Transferring such silliness to the small screen was always likely to be a risk, but despite The Bleak Shop of Stuff possibly sitting on just the wrong side of silly, it still managed to raise a few chuckles. Those who revel in silliness pushed to its absolute limits will doubtless find themselves in seventh heaven.

As the title more than suggests, this is a spoof of all things Dickensian, or rather, a lampooning of the starched-corset period dramas that British telly has always produced. Robert Webb leads as Jedrington Secret-Past, a shop owner who has his entire business - building, family and all - sent to debtors' prison on Christmas Eve. With Webb's comedy partner David Mitchell popping up, it does have the air of a sketch that goes on far too long, but there's plenty of silliness to hold the interest.

Fans of BBC Radio 4's cult ­Dickensian spoof Bleak ­Expectations will be delightified at the news that Mark Evans has penned a Christmas special for TV.

The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff - the first of a four-parter - is a brand new story but a very familiar one that's stuffed with those essential Dickensian staples - flinty-hearted lawyers, grubby-faced urchins bursting into song, cobwebby spinsters, suggestive surnames and the spectre of debtor's prison, known here as The Skint.

Robert Webb stars as the kindly Jedrington Secret-Past - owner of The Old Shop Of Stuff. But his hopes for a happy Christmas with his loving family are shattered by the arrival of evil lawyer Malifax Skulkingworm (Stephen Fry), a sinful man in an unusual hat demanding an unpaid debt that will be his ruin.

The cast includes David Mitchell as an exceedingly jolly man, Johnny Vegas (already a veteran of the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House), Katherine Parkinson, Celia Imrie and Pauline McLynn - as well as a small but pivotal role in every sense for young Jude Wright from Sky's recent sitcom Spy.

TV provides the opportunity for the kind of visual sight gags and special effects that radio doesn't and they've really gone to town creating a virtual Victorian London.

Purists might argue that it's funnier on the radio when your imagination is left to supply the pictures, but this still serves up a splendidly silly start to the Christmas week.

With Fridays being the unofficial stand-up night of the week (­seriously, check out tonight's telly - so much comedy there's not even room to swing a cat-sized reality show around), the award ceremony dedicated to all things funny sits among welcoming surroundings.

Jonathan Ross is on hosting duties so, as the show is live, we hope somebody at Channel 4 HQ has their quickest finger poised over the "bleep" button.

Those hoping to make winners' speeches include Miranda Hart, who deservedly won best new TV comedy and best comedy actress last year.

She's up for a ­whopping four awards this time, including the people's choice gong, which is voted for by us.

But the category's a toughie this year, with the marvellous Jo Brand and Sarah Millican also hoping to steal the honours. In our eyes, they all deserve to win.

The male awards aren't any easier to predict, with David Mitchell, Graham Norton and Jack Whitehall fighting to be named the nation's favourite male ­comedian (although, given the year he's had, John Bishop should have been up).

While all the names we've mentioned deserve their nominations, there are some categories where you get the impression one or two shows are just in there to make up the numbers.

But as this is comedy night and we're in such a jolly mood, we won't be so cruel as to name them.

Now in their 21st year, the British Comedy Awards have long served as a bellwether for the state of British comedy, from the quirky satire of the early 1990s, through the energetic sketch shows of the mid- to late-90s, to the recent success of family-friendly stand-up comics like Peter Kay, Michael McIntyre and John Bishop. Thanks to a sharp host, a ready supply of funny clips and a suitably witty audience, they've also been one of the few live awards ceremonies actually worth watching.

Tonight's event is hosted live by Jonathan Ross. Leading the nominees is Miranda Hart, who is up for four awards, while Harry Hill gets three nods. Hart, last year's Queen of Comedy winner, is up for the award again, with David Mitchell, Telegraph agony uncle Graham Norton, Jack Whitehall, Jo Brand and Sarah Millican also in the running. Tamsin Greig and Tom Rosenthal are nominated for best TV comedy actress and best comedy breakthrough artist respectively for their roles in Friday Night Dinner, while Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner have been singled out for their contribution to Outnumbered. Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville receives a nomination for his role in the Olympic comedy Twenty Twelve.

Jonathan Ross presides as comedians and TV producers drink themselves wretched and honk and bellow over each other's speeches. Probable attendees include last year's victor Miranda Hart, and this year's nominees for the public vote, Jack Whitehall, David Mitchell, Sarah Millican, Jo Brand and Graham Norton. But best of all, it's live. That combination of booze and live broadcast is really the only reason for this in the first place.

It's never too early to start feeling festive, right? The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff might be airing midway through December, but it's the perfect show to get you in the mood. From the writer who pens the popular Radio 4 series Bleak Expectations, this Dickensian spoof focuses on a shopkeeper - played by Robert Webb. Actually, the cast is perfect: Stephen Fry, David Mitchell, Katherine Parkinson and Celia Imrie are among the stars taking part. Both silly and a period drama - should be fun winter viewing.