Doug Stanhope

Mark Nelson's comedy hero: Doug Stanhope

One charmingly profane comic praises another.

Doug Stanhope: I can't stand Edinburgh fringe festival

Doug Stanhope talks to Metro about the difference between UK and US audiences, how it felt to get booed at the Reading and Leeds festivals and why he's decided to give the Edinburgh Fringe Festival a miss.

Doug Stanhope interview

Doug Stanhope didn't know he was due to be interviewed by SSP. Then again, it's not entirely clear he knows what day it is...

Interview: Doug Stanhope, comedian

Ahead of his appearance in Glasgow, controversial stand-up Doug Stanhope tells Kate Copstick why he's confident that he'll never run out of subjects for his chain-smoking, drink-fuelled tirades.

Interview, Doug Stanhope

The controversial comic claims that, despite his reputation for heavy drinking and caustic comedy, he's a decent American guy.

Mr Brooker's Wipe strand gets a promotion from BBC4 to terrestrial with his inimitable review of the year in news, telly, politics, games and film. The whole caboodle. Chipping in to help Charlie out are brilliant comic misanthrope Doug Stanhope, who'll be looking at the BP gulf oil disaster; Britain's best comic poet, Tim Key, with some dark, topical verse and - another Guardian writer - Grace Dent will be getting her hands lathery with a review of the year's soaps.

Much as we dislike the cult of Brooker (not everything he says deserves to be parroted, you middle-class gits), his onanistic obsession and the use of his name in the titles of his shows, this is probably going to be the best show of the evening.

At least, unlike his Screenwipe 'isn't Wipeout stupid?' with Charlie Brooker, Newswipe with Charlie Brooker seems to have a purpose that's slightly above pointing, laughing and making a joke about self-love or monkeys flinging excrement. It mainly seems to be 'all a bit scary', but there's always a good film from Adam Curtis, Ben Goldacre or - in this series - anything-goes Yank stand-up Doug Stanhope to help matters along. And as we hypocritically say, there's a lot of annoying rubbish on tonight.