Gillian Reynolds

Sheila Hancock is the narrator in Katherine Jakeways' new four part comedy drama serial. It's set on Wadenbrook, an hour from Peterborough by bus, but where the local co-op is the centre of local life, partly because Rod the manager, comes on the tannoy to tell customers more than they might want to know about his private life. Imagine a version of Llareggub in Northants, with Ken Bruce on the radio and a talent contest in sight.

Garry Richardson was last week declared by a listener to Today to be the real Alan Partridge, which is a bit unfair to all the other sports reporters who must have gone into the making of Steve Coogan's fictional broadcaster. And yet, and yet... There's something about Garry's hosting of this sports 'n' jokes show which might well mark him out as chief contender for the Partridge crown. Joining him to fling wisecracks at the World Cup and all else sporting are writer-performers Laurence Howarth, Richie Webb and Dave (the voice of Come Dine with Me) Lamb.

Admit it. The continuity announcer says, "And now, award-winning comedy from last year's Edinburgh Fringe..." and your finger and thumb go into instant retune. Experience has shown that mere seconds may now stand between you and a verbal avalanche of copulation, defecation and general tribulation.

Experience, however, is not an infallible teacher. Had I heeded it I would have missed Two Episodes of Mash (Radio 2, Saturday) and this, the seventh of eight Comedy Showcase pilots, was quite wonderfully funny. Better still, it was brilliant radio. A queen bee conversed with a wasp who knew everything going on in her hive, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell talked about old times in a Peterborough supermarket, a fortune teller used a tarot pack made from footballer cards, we heard what it's really like at the end of the rainbow. It was comedy that leaves you seeing everything its way (as Hancock did, or Monty Python). Diane Morgan and Joe Wilkinson, its makers, may bear the stigma of being Edinburgh Fringe stars but if Radio 2 doesn't sign them up instantly I'd like to know where they're working so I can buy tickets.

The laudably ambitious Comedy Showcase series continues with a pilot of a sketch show called Two Episodes of Mash (Radio 2, 10.00pm), written and performed by Diane Morgan and Joe Wilkinson, two stand-up comedians and regulars at the Edinburgh Fringe. Taking their inspiration from some of the more mundane elements of everyday life, the show includes silly sketches with titles such as "Secret Agent 00-9062".

Professing to "expose the wrong-headedness of received wisdom and kick back at knee-jerk reactions", Heresy has a rather sober brief for a comedy panel show, which is probably one of the reasons it keeps getting recommissioned by the serious folk at R4. It returns for a seventh series tonight, with host Victoria Coren welcoming comedian Rufus Hound, artist Grayson Perry and political journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer to the studio. They'll be disputing the received wisdom that women look better in men's clothes than vice versa; and that an artist who doesn't make his own work is a fraud.

On The Shuttleworths (Radio 4, Wednesday) John watched Mary buy a toaster on eBay. In Shuttleworth world this is enough of an event to inspire several songs, a sleepless night and deep reflection on crumb trays. In Reynolds world this 15 minutes was just what a person, numbed by frantic months of pre-election on-the-hour-every-hour speculation, second guessing and mistaken assumption, truly needed.

Dave Podmore on the Stump (Radio 4, Wednesday) was a glorious post-election tonic. Not all cricket fans love Podmore, sublime comic creation of Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds with assistance here from Nick Newman. He is, for some, too louche, too coarse. Only as louche and coarse, of course, as some former county players who turn up in reality shows and commentary boxes. This was the story of how, by Podmore-ish accident, he became an MP, observed and assisted as always by the faithful Andy, reporter for fictional but recognisable Radio One County. Pod had to stand down, of course, but not before enough jokes to make the script fizz and me fall off the chair laughing. On this show (produced by independents Hat Trick) even (the real) Jeremy Paxman sounded as if he were, at last, enjoying himself.

John Shuttleworth's guide to website perils. His opening song will be balm to the ears of computerphobics. Mary, his wife, under the tuition of their son Darren (he's good with computers) has turned into an eBay addict. She's bidding for a toaster. John is worried. This is belt tightening time for the Shuttleworths as well as the rest of us. But this toaster has such functions... How can he be sure that Mary's bid will be successful? Naturally he seeks advice from his neighbour (and sole agent) Ken Worthington. Fifteen minutes of heaven.

An election special or, rather, a post-election tonic. Dave Podmore, once a pretty middling kind of cricketer, latterly the sort of lowest league celeb who promotes office stationery or turns up on TV reality shows, has been elected MP for the marginal seat of Leicester Forest Services (East). Has he been the beneficiary of the Undecided vote? Or was he just too drunk to remember what happened at the count? (And did his distant cousin Ed Reardon campaign for him?) Written by and starring Christopher Douglas, Andrew Nickolds and Nick Newman.

This episode in the network's ambitious Comedy Showcase short series, is by and stars Tim Minchin as Jonny, lead singer of rock band Perspex, who's left Australia to find fame and fortune. Just as it seems within his band's grasp he meets Verity, beautiful lead singer of a Christian pop band, and their mutual chemistry is instant. So will this change his path to that of true love and different values or, by inducing deep suffering, make him a better artist? The remarkable supporting cast includes Peter Serafinowicz, Dan Antopolski and Lizzie Roper.