Jack Dee

Friday night is chat-off night as Alan Carr giggles back into action. Slipping into a slot just 35 minutes before Graham Norton on BBC1, Carr's got the advantage for his tenth series, welcoming popster-cum-crooner Robbie Williams, together with a trio of Comic Relief fund-raisers - Jack Dee, Dara O'Briain and Mel C. And if new dad Robbie starts talking nappy changes, you can always hop channels to see if Graham Norton's craic is any better than Carr's.

Alan Carr has, almost by stealth, become part of the TV furniture. He returns for another series tonight, knowing he'll have to be at his chattiest if he's to get a word in edgeways. Robbie Williams is in town, talking about fatherhood and his forthcoming stadium shows - once he gets on a roll, he takes some stopping. Robbie's also going to be singing a new song, Be a Boy, which is a disappointing development. Elsewhere, odd trio Jack Dee, Dara O'Briain and Melanie C will be discussing their recent voyage down the Zambezi River in aid of Comic Relief. Chatty, man.

Jack Dee and Mel C trapped under boat

Funnyman Jack Dee has told of his terror when he was trapped under his canoe during a Comic Relief challenge on the Zambezi river.

The main Radio 4 comedy celebrating Christmas was I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, broadcast as a 45-minute long extended edition. Stephen Fry was the guest, alongside host Jack Dee, panellists Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, and pianist Colin Sell - although sadly no Samantha (Sven took the place as scorer).

In the special there was the usual selection of rounds, from "Mornington Crescent" to "Sound Charades", and "Nativity Radio Times" to "One Song to the Tune of Another", which allows the listeners to hear Fry's version of Goodness Gracious Me to the tune of The First Noel, a sound which makes you wonder who would win a singing contest between Fry and Jeremy Hardy...

One of my main complaints about the BBC's comedy programming in 2012 was the lack of coverage it gave to the ISIHAC's 40th anniversary. This show was almost the only marker of the celebration, whereas the 45th anniversary of Just a Minute was given extensive coverage, including a TV adaptation (the third in its history) and episodes recorded in India.

JAM's a great comedy too, of course, but I do think that ISIHAC is the better of the two. And if the BBC aren't going to honour it then hopefully I can here. Here's to another 40 years of funnies - maybe...

Jack Dee: I died on stage in Aussie prison gig

Comic Jack Dee says it was no laughing matter when he performed at a maximum security prison in Australia.

Review: An evening with Jack Dee

Tonight Dee delivers a model performance. It just seems a little too modelled for my liking.

Barry Cryer: ISIHAC is best when it's falling apart

As the long-running Radio 4 show returns, the stalwart panelist celebrates the late Humphrey Lyttelton, his replacement Jack Dee - and the importance of silliness.

Jack Dee, Edinburgh Playhouse

Comedy's Mr Misery returns to the stage - but has familiarity bred contentment?

Jack Dee: "Believe it or not, I was quite morose"

The king of deadpan returns for a national tour.

While it's brilliant to see Sky investing in British comedy again, Jack Dee's new entertainment show Don't Sit in the Front Row feels less 'great idea' than 'there's a good idea in there somewhere'. With four pre-selected members of the public plonked in the front row, it's up to a team of three comedy panellists to question them and probe their lives, with the person sparking the least comic inspiration eliminated by the comedians at the end of each round. The first round works quite well, with a simple Q&A format providing plenty of laughs, but the latter rounds feel muddled and slightly aimless, particularly the phase in which the comedians re-enact events from the panellists' lives. There's more than a hint of awkwardness from the comics themselves, as if they're not sure what to do. Funny at times, but a mixed bag.