David O'Doherty

A peculiar new show from the Irish funnyman and front of Mock The Week. Based on the assumption that - because he studied maths and theoretical physics at University College, Dublin - he must be quite clever, O'Briain attempts to solve questions and conundrums set by Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy. The puzzles are the kind of things that made you grimace as a child (the quickest route across two rivers) combined with some tomfoolery (how to get the most kisses at a dance). A comedy guest - David O'Doherty this week - acts as a foil to Dara's logical mind; the equivalent of the kid acting up at the back of the class.

Lauren Laverne hates fake tans, square plates and flags ("Nothing good ever came out of a flag: racism, nationalism, Geri Halliwell at the Brits"). Larry Lamb isn't happy about all those trendy, confusing loo signs ("Save it for the jury," retorts host Frank Skinner). And comedian David O'Doherty doesn't like the age 35 - "the first truly disappointing age." "I once went to an 18-30s do," says Skinner. "I got completely mixed up and went as Lord Alfred Tennyson." He's here all week.

If Friday night panel shows are your thing, then you could do a lot worse than this likeable option hosted by an on-form Frank Skinner. Three celebrities compete to banish their pet hates to the hellish environs of Room 101. Tonight, former EastEnders actor Larry Lamb, comedian David O'Doherty and TV and radio presenter Lauren Laverne square off against each other, the last of whom wants to can fake tan ("We're walking around looking like a nation of Oompa Loompas," she laments).

Programmes that pull together a bunch of festival turns are often ragged and random - not this one. As your compere Arthur Smith explains at the top of the show, all the acts have at least a modicum of BBC4 sensibility about them. Alex Horne and his, um, Horne Section offer silly but dazzling musical comedy, while Tim Key does something similarly clever and stupid with his poems. David O'Doherty has a Bontempi organ and a unique way with words, while Nina Conti offers an ingenious and brilliantly improvised variation on her familiar ventriloquist routine.

Much, much more heart-warming and just plain funnier than Mock the Week, I'd say - is BBC One's Would I Lie To You?. The show gets a lovely mix of guests but at its core is the genius idea of pitting David Mitchell and Lee Mack against each other as team captains. The highbrow vs lowbrow, South vs North dynamic is endlessly entertaining, and they are so quick, so sharp. I laugh out loud every week.

And in this latest series in particular, the producers seem perfectly happy to throw in a few lies per episode that are so utterly unbelievable that the guest can just have fun with it without being shackled by the need to make it sound plausible. A well-told, utterly convincing lie is impressive; a ridiculous one can be hilarious. Enter the supreme David O'Doherty, charged with persuading the opposing team that he is seeing a hypno-therapist to get over his addiction to hypno-therapists. THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is entertainment...

Having recently come back from the Fringe this week I thought to myself: "Do you know what I need? To watch some more stand-up comedy."

BBC Three has been broadcasting a selection of Fringe programmes. One of these is Edinburgh Comedy Fest, hosted by Jon Richardson, featuring a selection of stand-up comedians and musical comedians performing at the Fringe.

Alongside Richardson were Josh Widdicombe, Neil Delamere, Abandoman, Seann Walsh, Mark Watson, Russell Kane, David O'Doherty, Andrew Lawrence, Ron Vaudey, Jimeoin, Tom Stade, Ed Byrne and Shappi Khorsandi. I don't know about you, but to me that seems a bit too much.

This programme only lasted an hour, and there were 14 different acts. On average they performed less than 5 minutes each. Also, as far as I know, Vaudey isn't even performing at the Fringe. What's more, it was not exactly that diverse. Granted there were comedians from abroad (Canadian, Irish, Iranian), but there was only one woman performing and one non-white person performing - and that was the same person.

In this short format, some comedians did come across better than others. Widdicombe, Delamere and O'Doherty got the laughs, while Vaudey seemed to be a bit flat. I think it would've been a better show if there were more episodes that were of a shorter length. And more variety in terms of style of performers and their backgrounds would be nice, too.

Video: Amnesty at the fringe: Stand Up for Freedom

Amnesty International has always had great support from comedians, who value the right to freedom of speech more than most. At last week's Stand Up for Freedom comedy night at the Edinburgh festival, a 1,200-strong audience watched the best of fringe comedy and also did their bit for human rights. Here's a sneak peek at the sold-out show, with Ed Byrne, Holly Walsh, David O'Doherty and Jenny Eclair.

My Edinburgh: David O'Doherty, comedian

There was a kerfuffle during my show one night at the Fringe last year. Two drunk men were having an argument.

Lee Nelson, whose thunderously unfunny Well Good Show sank on BBC3 last year, gets another shot at the big time, acting as compere for gaggle of up and coming British comedians in the BBC's specially designed Edinburgh auditorium. Regular BBC3 viewers will recognise a fair few of the wide-eyed, hyperactive standups on show here, including Charlie Baker, David O'Doherty and Russell Kane, who seems to be on just about everything at the moment.

David O'Doherty: Pioneer Spirit

Since winning the big comedy award in 2008, he has established himself as one of the must-see acts of every Fringe. But the road to Edinburgh success was a long and hard one for David O'Doherty.