Ed Byrne

Preview: Ed Byrne, Crowd Pleaser, Venue 150

Ed Byrne's latest comedy vehicle, the aptly-named Crowd Pleaser, is a show that does exactly what it says on the tin.

World of Ed Byrne, comedian

The stand-up comedian talks to Angela Wintle about guitars, mountaineering and middle-child syndrome.

Ed Byrne: Smaller venues are much better for comedy

Don't try telling Mock The Week star Ed Byrne that comedy is the new rock 'n' roll because he has no intention of following many of his colleagues by taking his shows to the megastar arenas.

Ed Byrne interview

If Ed Byrne's lifestyle were a genre of a kids' book it would be a fairytale.

Who owns a joke?

The row about joke ownership continued gathering momentum this week with the news that Ed Byrne has quit Twitter after clashing, once again, with Keith Chegwin.

Ed Byrne quits Twitter over Cheggers row

The Irish stand-up is fed up with the nine-month dispute.

Noel Fielding to dance for Comic Relief

Mighty Boosh comic Noel Fielding, The Thick of It star Rebecca Front and comics Russell Kane and Ed Byrne are among the stars who will take part in this year's Let's Dance for Comic Relief.

Host Dara O'Briain's larger-than-average head comes in for stick in this seasonal special of the topical panel show ("On a normalsized head that would be a full head of hair," grins comedian Ed Byrne, pointing at O Briain's balding pate). Other not-so-festive topics in a compilation of previously unseen clips include police cuts and earthquake training. We're also treated to a news clip of the Queen shopping for a catsuit to wear for her annual broadcast on Christmas Day - or at least that's what team captain Hugh Dennis thinks Her Majesty is up to.

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?

My abiding memory of Irish comedian Dave Allen, apart from his pointedly perceptive and very funny 1970s-80s TV show, was seeing him perform his live stand-up (or in his case sit-down stand-up) in the early 1990s. During the course of two hours, in his usual relaxed demeanour, he talked about sex, religion, the Irish, and his teenage son - and it was hilarious - so much so that my sides literally did hurt by the end. So it's fitting that Radio 2's comedy season includes this celebration of the much missed Allen, who died in 2005. Fellow Dubliner and stand-up Ed Byrne is the guide to the career of a man whose taboo-breaking observations about death and particularly the Catholic Church established him as an alternative comedian before the term had even been coined.