Frankie Boyle

Frankie Goes To Russia was actually the funniest thing on television last week, with much guffawing on the sofa in our house. His straight-to-camera narration was hilarious. Here is his novel take on the end of the Soviet Union: "Ever since David Hasselhoff brought communism to an end in 1981..."

He was also devastatingly accurate about our beloved Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson: "A cross between a head injury and an unmade bed!" But if you were looking for substance in this visit to one of the most hated countries in the world, you will have been disappointed. Substance is over-rated anyway.

Boyle did visit Rostov, which apparently has the worst hooligans in football, although the comedian only managed to find, among the local, revelling Cossacks a harmless rapper/ artist who will probably be rounded-up by Putin now for being too happy.

Welcome back to civilisation, Frankie.

Frankie Goes to Russia review

Acerbic stand-up proves the natural heir to Michael Palin.

Review: Frankie Boyle's New World Order

For an entertainment show Frankie Boyle's New World Order certainly takes things pretty seriously and a lot is crammed into thirty minutes. It's a shame it is Boyle on his best behaviour, but I'd rather have Boyle on his best behaviour than no Boyle at all.

With Theresa May still clinging rigidly to the frozen cliff face, as imagined in the best monologue from last year's episodes, Frankie Boyle returns with more standup, discussion and audience interaction. Sara Pascoe, Katherine Ryan and Mona Chalabi compete with the host's verbal grenades.

Frankie Boyle loses his head in haunted house horror

The controversial stand-up lost his head after agreeing to appear in fellow comic Greg Hemphill's new horror Long Night at Blackstone.

Frankie Boyle 'tormented by female stalker at gigs'

Rebecca Gamble, 48, Folkestone, Kent, is said to have travelled up from England and followed the Glasgow funnyman around.

The first run of Boyle's studio-bound current affairs vehicle coincided with the shock of the general election and the horror of Grenfell Tower and saw the abrasive Glaswegian catching the zeitgeist to impressive effect. He'll have plenty to chew on in this end-of-year roundup; given the absence of Charlie Brooker from this year's Christmas schedules, this is your best bet for a sceptical, scabrous take on another troubling political year.

The top 10 comedy shows of 2017

A virgin dominatrix whipped Edinburgh, Tim Key looked for love and Hannah Gadsby quit then won two awards. But only the snide, brutal brilliance of Frankie Boyle could triumph over the year's horrors.