Gary Lineker

The First Team, review: second division comedy

The German Bundesliga and reruns of classic matches have been trying valiantly to fill the football-shaped hole in our lives. Could new pitchside sitcom The First Team (BBC Two) further plug the gap? No, it couldn't. Viewers were left sick as a parrot, rather than over the moon, Clive.

Gary Lineker splits opinion as HIGNFY host

A debate over free speech and BBC impartiality has raged all week.

W1A: Why this final series might be the best yet.

I'm just a little upset that this is the final series as, from what I've seen, W1A is arguably the BBC funniest comedy that's currently on screen and I'm just wondering if the reason its leaving the screens is because of Morton's ability to spoof the company that's actually in charge of recommissioning his brilliant sitcom.

Gary Lineker on HIGNFY prompts keyboard fury

Gary Lineker has been accused of "mocking the elderly" and "promoting anti-Brexit propaganda" after making a joke while presenting Have I Got News For You.

It's 10 years since 'They Think It's All Over' ended

Can you believe that it's ten years since the last ever episode of They Think It's All Over? The sport-themed British comedy panel game was first shown in September 1995 and ran for nineteen seasons on BBC One before coming to an end in 2006 after over a decade on air.

Stephen Fry among BBC stars doing £50,000 corporates

Gary Lineker, Graham Norton, Miranda Hart and Andrew Marr all quote up to £25k, raising questions as to whether the Beeb should pay its talent less.

Radio Times review

Sometimes this celebrity whinge party gets up a head of comic steam. The mix of guests doesn't always gel but when it does - as here - you feel as if you're eavesdropping on a heated chat in a pub full of famous people.

In this episode that means Gary Lineker, Jack Dee and Fay Ripley offering up their personal peeves: Dee hates white vans and hand dryers; Lineker hates internet trolls; Ripley hates jeggings - and people who tell the truth.

In railing against "people who tell it like it is" Ripley includes a nice story of meeting up with an actress she used to work with, whose deflating first words were "Oh Fay! Oh my God, how we've all aged!"

Hats off to the BBC for broadcasting it [Episode 6] even though it centred on an inquiry into a national scandal and contained Nicola Murray's embarrassingly timely line, 'I think it's good to have an inquiry every now and then. It livens things up a bit.'

The writing was top-class from the minute spin doctor Stewart Pearson attempted to avoid any blame for the damage parliamentary leaks can cause by arguing, 'If someone chokes on a crisp, do you issue an arrest warrant for Gary Lineker?'

Even part-time insurance salesman Chris Addison got in on the act with Ollie Reeder's 'Knowledge is power, but that doesn't mean Carol Vorderman should be prime minister'.

Tucker stole the show, though. His protestation 'Je ne remember rien' was brilliantly withering, while his climactic rant about privacy really should mark an end to that particular debate.

In fact, I'd love to reprint it here in full. Mainly because I'm sure it's the longest he's ever gone without saying '****'.

Miranda Hart cracks no women gag at Sports Personality

Talk about choosing your moment to make a point... Comedian Miranda Hart stunned BBC Sports Personality of the Year host Gary Lineker with a jibe at the fact no women were nominated for the gong.