Eddie Izzard

Comedian Micky Flanagan turns up in The Secret Policeman's Ball (Channel 4, 10pm).

Recorded on Sunday in New York, this latest Amnesty International fundraiser boasts a huge line-up including Russell Brand, Eddie Izzard, Jimmy Carr and stacks of Americans I should probably have heard of.

Coldplay are on it as well, although they tend to only make me laugh if Chris Martin accidentally slams the piano lid on his fingers.

The hilarious Secret Policeman's Ball is back to mark Amnesty ­International's 50th anniversary.

Recorded last Sunday at Radio City Music Hall in New York, it's the first time the gala event has been held outside the UK since John Cleese and his friends brought together musicians and ­comedians for the first show in 1976.

It might also be the first time that Coldplay and professional hecklers Statler and Waldorf, from The Muppets, have appeared on the same bill.

The all star-cast also features comics from both sides of the Atlantic, including David Walliams, Ben Stiller, Eddie Izzard, Russell Brand, Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Carr, Noel Fielding and Jack Whitehall, with music from Mumford & Sons.

The Secret Policeman's Ball: behind the scenes - video

Amnesty International goes behind the scenes at The Secret Policeman's Ball at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Russell Brand talks about his tattoo, while other performers, including Paul Rudd, Eddie Izzard and Noel Fielding, talk about what human rights mean to them.

The Amnesty International benefit show returns after a four-year hiatus with a transatlanic special, taking place for the first time in New York at the Radio City Music Hall. Recorded on Sunday, the show celebrates the charity's 50th anniversary with a stellar comedy line-up including Russell Brand, Ben Stiller, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Silverman, Jack Whitehall, Jon Stewart and The Muppets. There's music, too, from Mumford & Sons and Coldplay, whose frontman, Chris Martin, announces onstage: "We take pleasure in being the least funny act here."

Video: Jack Whitehall on US Secret Policeman's Ball gig

Comedian Jack Whitehall has just returned to the UK after performing at The Secret Policeman's Ball gala in New York; the first time it has been held outside the UK.

He performed alongside Russell Brand, Eddie Izzard, David Walliams, Jon Stewart and Ben Stiller for the Amnesty International benefit.

While speaking to the BBC's Charlie Stayt and Susanna Reid about the US gig he decided to investigate the BBC Breakfast programme's set.

Izzard recreates Italian job ending on gallery roof

Comedian Eddie Izzard is paying an artist to recreate the final scene of The Italian Job by balancing a coach off the roof of an art gallery.

Izzard and Carr added to Secret Policeman's Ball cast

The full cast for this Sunday's Secret Policeman's Ball has been unveiled, with Chris O'Dowd, Matt Berry, Jimmy Carr and Eddie Izzard joining the line-up.

Being modern: Arena comedy

Lee Evans, Steve Coogan, Dylan Moran, Eddie Izzard, Peter Kay, Russell Brand, Tim Vine, Michael McIntyre... the very best of our home-grown talent has since filled the O2 Arena, the very biggest of our coliseums - and McIntyre has made playing to these rooms an expected practice rather than a remarkable event thanks to his televised "roadshows". Fewer than 100,000 arena-comedy tickets were sold in 2004; within five years, that figure had breached a million.

Eddie Izzard on Treasure Island

He drifted into comedy, found he had a flair for the dramatic, and now wants to enter politics. Eddie Izzard's life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Why Eddie Izzard loves Christmas: interview

Eddie Izzard talks to Adam Sweeting about his new BBC drama Lost Christmas, and remaking Treasure Island Goodfellas-style.