Jack Seale

The happy-faced comic returns from his latest sell-out arena tour to host a new series of topical comedy. In terms of ratings, Good News is huge on BBC3 and massive on the BBC iPlayer, but there's nothing fancy or new about it: almost all of it is Howard himself on a stage in front of an audience, doing gags about what's been in the news. Comedians have been trying that with mixed results for decades, so the show's success must be down to Howard himself, who leavens the standard whatever-next cracks with a lot of positive energy. As before, he'll end every show this year with a feel-good story of courage or kindness.

A third series of the sports quiz that makes A Question of Sport look square and stilted. Not that A Question of Sport needs any help. The banter feels a lot closer to how sportspeople really talk - letting them swear is a good start - but it's the stunts and games that make it. Highlights of last year's run included series regulars Andrew Flintoff and Georgie Thompson answering quick questions for as long as their team-mate Jimmy Carr could bear to sit in an ice bath, and Phillips Idowu leaping over all five other panellists, plus host James Corden, Evel Kneivel-style. Of course it isn't funny all the time, and moving to hour-long episodes seems risky, but the moments when it flies are worth waiting for.

The return of the show where Thomas sifts through suggestions for new laws and policies that might just make Britain better, if only politicians would use some common sense. It's a truly collaborative effort, with the initial suggestions and, often, the comic riffs that develop coming from the audience. In the main it's played for laughs, be they absurd ("Compulsory Stilton at primary school") or observational (sanctions for people who reach the top of a flight of steps then suddenly stop); but the productive atmosphere Thomas creates means the show can sidestep into properly thought-provoking politics, for example, the hard-todispute suggestion that nobody not on the electoral roll should be able to make party donations. It really sings when an absurd idea proves to have serious intent. So, should we invade Jersey?

Radio Times review

Half an hour in real time, in the house of a middle-aged couple (Alfred Molina and Dawn French) who have Just Got In from work. No scenes outside. No other characters. Few traditional "jokes". Is that the recipe for the year's best sitcom? Yes, because comedy is character and these characters were exquisite.

With writers Emma and Beth Kilcoyne having nailed the peculiar rhythms and catchphrases of long-term cohabitants, almost everything this melancholy but sweetly supportive pair said could raise a low-key, warm titter.

But the series wasn't content with being a perfectly observed micro-comedy about marriage. As that melancholy took over, and Val and Roger's charming vulnerability assumed a darker, more dramatic hue, we learnt that they were bound together not just by domestic convenience, but by grief. The searingly sad fourth episode, where the nature of that loss was revealed, was the best half-hour of telly of 2010 in any genre.

Radio Times review

The most unfairly criticised comedy of the year, with sages queuing up to make the shattering observation that Simon Amstell can't act. Why would he need to? He was playing himself in a sitcom about a comedian who, despite considerable success, is paralysed by neuroses and has no communication skills, especially when stuck with his brash, unstarry relatives. Mumbling and nearly corpsing worked for Jerry Seinfeld and were what was required here.

Amstell's merciless dissection of his own personality gave Grandma's House its real-com edge, but more importantly, it had a fabulous cast (Rebecca Front, Samantha Spiro, James Smith) enjoying a script full of spiky but affectionate family ding-dongs, in a Royles/Gavin & Stacey vein. When the later episodes introduced classic sitcom plotting - intricate, chaotic, accelerating - Grandma's House got even better.

Radio Times review

Even more brutally self-lacerating than Simon Amstell's portrayal of himself in Grandma's House was this extraordinary confessional from Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

A shapeless, talky, part-improvised thing with the will-this-do premise of the pair touring the north of England to review restaurants, The Trip saw Coogan play a needy, competitive egotist, terrified of career stagnation and depressed by his wrecked personal life.

Brydon, equally bravely, presented a comedian who's addicted to easy laughs, constantly doing impressions to avoid being himself. Yes, it was incredibly funny - a whole half-hour could be dedicated to Coogan and Brydon trading impersonations and improvisations, and many episodes weren't far off doing just that. But The Trip stood out as one of the most uncompromising celebs-as-themselves comedies ever.

Radio Times review

This apparently very gentle comedy about Adam Smallbone (Tom Hollander), an unfortunate urban vicar, stealthily gained momentum during its run in the summer. Church-goers appreciated seeing a man of the cloth who wasn't a bumbling, asexual square, but the godless could well appreciate the Reverend's very earthly problems: self-doubt, professional frustration and nagging temptation.

Rev wasn't above the odd broad, visual gag either, while the sly social comment - Adam's frequent despair at vulgar modern society was hard to disagree with - made it rich, rounded and intelligent viewing.

Radio Times review

A lovely little three-parter, hiding on BBC4 but getting a repeat on BBC2 in the new year.

What could be more relaxing than a ramble in the gorgeous, grassy Chilterns? Many things, if you're a member of the walking group led by Bob, a fussy fighter of tiny battles.

Played by Mark Heap in incredibly Mark Heapy fashion, Bob was a textbook example of a sitcom character who craves control but is surrounded by uncontrollable kooks. The characters never became cartoons despite a welter of carefully constructed funny lines.

The immensely likeable Shappi Khorsandi gets personal in this second series of four themed shows. Today's topic is divorce: Khorsandi, a recent divorcee and now a single mother, discusses the horror of resuming dating and the process of explaining the situation to her small son. It's the perfect subject matter for her style: fresh and incisive but warmly inclusive and, often, sharply self-deprecating.

Actress, writer and now, presenter: Ruth Jone, co-creator of Gavin & Stacey, hosts a light mix of chat, music and larks. It's going nationwide this Christmas after debuting in Wales last year. Music comes from indie-rock milquetoasts the Script, while places on the sofa are reserved for Ricky Gervais, Will Young and Miranda Hart.