Davina McCall

Following 8 Out Of 10 Cats was brand new panel show King Of... hosted by the enormously pregnant Claudia Winkleman, who looked ready to pop if she so much as sneezed. Winkleman's become something of a cult in recent years, primarily thanks to her hosting of Strictly Come Dancing's irreverent sister show It Takes Two, where her brand of scatterbrained madness has endeared her to many. She's still very much a love/hate personality, similar to nutty face-puller Davina McCall, but King proves she's incapable of hosting what amounts to an optimistic version of Room 101.

The premise is very simple and, unfortunately, incredibly pointless and uninteresting. Winkleman's joined by two celebrity guests over the course of the show, who debate what the "king" (read "best") of any given topic is. King of snacks? King of holidays? King of music? King of pets? King of cities? You name. It's so trifling and inane that it would barely cover a column in Heat, and Winkleman's unable to spin any gold from the discussion.

The opener's guests were Geordie comedian Sarah Millican and presenter/DJ Chris Evans: the former a likable enough person who's extremely overexposed right now; the latter nowhere near funny enough to turn a tedious "what's the king of cheese?" question into comedy dynamite. Maybe it's my cynical British attitude, but there's nothing especially funny or interesting about listening to celebs state a case for something they adore, and essentially list favourites. It's radio's Desert Island Discs with wider topics of discussion, but without an soul. I'd much rather they bitch and moan about something they hate.

Winkleman's on record saying the show's "shit", thanks to a moment of candor a few weeks ago, and it's hard to disagree with her. What's the king of panel shows? Anything but this. I can only assume Winkleman needed the money to decorate her nursery.

Comedy, music and good causes - it can only be the show that makes you laugh until you give.

Harry Hill, Steve Coogan, Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Ant and Dec and Armstrong and Miller are all doing something funny for money this year, along with the casts of The Inbetweeners, Outnumbered and Miranda.

We can also look forward to a specially shot mini-episode of Doctor Who, and James Corden will be back with the third instalment of his iconic Smithy trilogy - calling in favours from some very big names in showbiz.

Corden will also be one fifth of Fake That - a tribute band which boasts the talents of David Walliams, Alan Carr, Catherine Tate and John Bishop.

Never fear, though, the real Take That will be performing too. In fact, the night's going to be awash with boy-bands, as JLS are in the studio and it's The Wanted's turn to do the official Comic Relief single, Gold Forever.

The music line-up also includes chart-busting Adele, Annie Lennox, Elbow and Gareth Malone, who will be trying to turn some TV chefs into a Comic Relief choir.

Your hosts through this comedy marathon will be Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Michael McIntyre, Graham Norton, Claudia Winkleman and Fearne Cotton.

There have been 12 Red Nose Days since 1988, helping to raise more than £500million to help needy people in the UK and abroad.

There'll also be films from David Tennant, Jack Dee, Ruth Jones and Comic Relief stalwart Lenny Henry, each providing frequent reminders of how your money can help change people's lives for the better.

The build-up has been going on for weeks with everything from a "rude road trip" by the stars of The Inbetweeners to Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton's daring Battersea Power Station highwire act, and a gruelling challenge that saw nine stars trek for five days across the Kaisut desert in Kenya. So, what can top that as the bi-annual charity fundraiser takes over the airwaves tonight?

Well, with a presentation team that includes Michael McIntyre, Lenny Henry, Graham Norton, Fearne Cotton, Jack Whitehall, Kevin Bridges, Jonathan Ross, Davina McCall, James Corden and Jack Dee there are certainly lots of laughs in prospect. There's a host of one-off sketches to look forward to from Miranda Hart, Harry Hill, Steve Coogan, Armstrong & Miller and the cast of Outnumbered. There are also Comic Relief spin-offs of MasterChef and The Choir, and special outings for Doctor Who and EastEnders.

As well as all that, there are performances from some of the biggest names in the music industry, including George Michael and Boyzone, and reminders why it's all happening, with reports on how the money raised in previous years has benefited the underprivileged in Africa and here in the UK. Of course, amid all the chaos, everybody's eyes will be fixed on the cash counter clocking up every pound raised by volunteers and fundraisers. In 2009 Comic Relief raised £80 million.

Has any other presenter ever invested their heart and soul in a show as much as Davina McCall did with Big Brother? Not many people would have put as much enthusiasm into their last day at work as she did on the Ultimate Big Brother Final. And how does C4 repay her? By rounding up a bunch of comedians to insult her in an amusing manner. There's gratitude for you.

Jimmy Carr hosts as Patrick Kielty, Jack Whitehall, Rich Hall, Ed Byrne and Debra Stephenson poke fun, with tributes from her showbiz mates such as Dermot O'Leary, Chris Moyles and Julian Clary. Plus, of course, some former housemates, including Sam Pepper.

Sam's unique talent in the house was rubbing people up the wrong way without even trying. Wonder what he'll do to get under Davina's skin now that he's a free man?

Davina McCall to appear on 'Comedy Roast'

Davina McCall has signed up to appear on Comedy Roast next month.

Davina McCall for 'Comedy Roast'?

Davina McCall is reportedly being lined up to star in the next series of A Comedy Roast...

Comedy stars saddle up for charity ride

Comics David Walliams, Miranda Hart, Russell Howard, Jimmy Carr and Patrick Kielty, plus presenters Fearne Cotton and Davina McCall are to cycle the length of Britain in a bid to raise £1m for Sport Relief.

Alan Carr is so keen-as-mustard, so effervescently eager-to-please, he has rushed out this New Year's Eve special two days early. And it's a classy edition to round off the series: Carr is joined by the brightest twinkling star of this year's Christmas television, David Tennant, who will be discussing his performance in his final episodes of Doctor Who, though no doubt remaining resolutely tight-lipped on the plot details. Davina McCall also drops by to discuss the last-ever Celebrity Big Brother (coming soon - be warned) and music comes from Spandau Ballet.

Jon Culshaw (Dead Ringers) and Debra Stephenson (Frankie Baldwin in Coronation Street) join forces in this new sketch show featuring their range of almost flawless impersonations. With his brilliant George W Bush on Dead Ringers, Culshaw has already established himself as a John Sessions for the Noughties. It's remarkable, though, that Stephenson hasn't unveiled her impersonating skill until now. She does a mean (in both senses) Anne Robinson, and performs some impressive facial gymnastics as a hyperventilating Davina McCall getting so excited over a bedtime story she ends up upside down. As is eternally the way with these shows, the quality of the jokes lags behind the success of the impressions themselves. The sight of Culshaw and Stephenson as Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley on the sofa of The One Show is as banal as the original - though it's made up for by Culshaw's superbly dead-eyed Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall barbecuing a polecat on Autumnwatch in front of Stephenson's Kate Humble. Most impressively of all, Stephenson nails the voices of not just one but both Minogues - Kylie as an irrepressibly sunny little pixie, and Dannii a steely, glacial automaton.

You can picture the scene... an executive at BBC entertainment groans as ITV's Harry Hill's TV Burp grows more popular with each series. "Get me something like that!" she/he barks. "Something that takes the mickey out of everyone on the telly. People like watching that on a Saturday." The result is far, far better than you'd expect. Either the producers have crammed all their best efforts into the first episode or this mock-celebrity-filled sketch show is a winner. It doesn't hurt that Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson are right on the money with almost all their impressions. Culshaw gets Michael McIntyre's strange, high/low voice perfectly and his Ross Kemp on Gangs spoof where Kemp meets the Famous Five ("The whole gang is clearly off their head on ginger beer") works a treat. Stephenson, meanwhile, is equally convincing as Dannii Minogue or a grimacing Davina McCall. Why it's quite so enjoyable to see, say, Ray Mears impersonated to a tee or some lovingly imagined links from The One Show is anyone's guess. But it is.