Frankie Boyle

Adam Hills interview. 'Frankie Boyle's jokes are tame'

Making jokes about the disabled is usually an invitation to a huge kicking - just ask our columnist Frankie Boyle. But that's not the case for Aussie comic Adam Hills. He's been getting rave reviews and more than a million viewers for his Paralympics comedy and review show, The Last Leg.

Russell Howard on Frankie Boyle's jokes

Russell Howard has come to the defence of his former Mock the Week co-star Frankie Boyle, arguing that there are "far worse things in the world" than the Scottish comic's dark humour.

Fuming over Frankie Boyle will not erase discrimination

Pseudo media storms over Frankie Boyle's Paralympics tweets obscure real issues about people's rights, wealth and power.

The Last Leg with Adam Hills is something of a high-risk venture, and the comedian fronting it reminds us frequently that he has a prosthetic leg, giving him licence to crack jokes that most of us wouldn't dream of.

The fact that he's an Australian helps - no one expects him to be subtle. "You will say the wrong thing," he said in the first show. "Don't worry." Then he went on to ponder whether in the equestrian events it should be the horse rather than the rider that is disabled.

Rather more edgy was the contribution of Josh Widdicombe, a vaguely recognisable comic who has no disabilities. His report on the day's events included an item on how horses defecating in the arena was supposed to be beneficial to their performance. If horses are to be the focus of attention at these Games, then someone in the production department has got the wrong idea. No wonder that Balding is anchoring the coverage.

But it's not quite as wrong as Widdicombe's jokes about how the weightlifters don't have to lift the weights very high. Joshing Josh may have to raise his game a little - or they may as well go for his namesake Ann. Or Frankie Boyle.

Boyle is making jokes about the Paralympics - so what?

Why bother publicising the "sick" Frankie Boyle jokes that he made on Twitter, in the process relaying the humdingers to readers who'd otherwise never have heard of them? (Nicely done Daily Record.)

TV review: The Boyle Variety Performance

Frankie Boyle is Marmite, but not just because some people love him and Daily Mail readers hate him. On closer inspection there are many more layers to this well-trodden comparison.

Frankie Boyle makes for a supremely incongruous presence on a broadcaster shortly to be taken over by Paralympics coverage. All part of the glorious diversity of Channel 4's offerings, we suppose, but there's certainly something telling in the absence of preview material for the comic's new show. Could the lawyers be working right up to transmission? (Actually, no - the show hadn't actually been filmed by the time we wrote this - thanks to Frankie Boyle for the tip-off.) But the name isn't just a groansome pun: this is Frankie's take on the Windsors' annual cringeathon, with red carpet chat, music, celebrity guests and comedy from the likes of Sarah Millican, Rob Delaney and Nick Helm. 'I will appear on TV for very possibly the last time... it cannot end in anything but disaster,' says the man himself. Confrontational and controversial, or just a load of hot air? Tune in to find out.

For those wondering what a variety performance hosted by Frankie Boyle would look like, here it be: an "entertainment extravaganza" featuring guest musicians and comedians such as Rob Delaney and Nick Helm. Boyle has also hinted this may be his final TV performance. And that being the case, it may apparently be even more controversial than usual! We wait with unbated breath.

Q&A: Frankie Boyle

'The closest I've come to death? Middlesbrough'.