Jack Whitehall

They are not past their sell-by date yet, but as the student flatmates of Fresh Meat start their second year (and third series), they are no longer quite so tender. Happily, however, they are still very funny, all the more so for their endearing attempts to seem jaded. "I thought I knew everything, but really I knew nothing," muses Oregon, thinking back to her first-year self. "Now, I know everything!"

She doesn't, although she has spent the summer in South America with Vod, who has acquired a boyfriend who speaks no English and whose every utterance has to be translated through Oregon's gritted teeth. "He says, 'I love you'... I'd have thought you'd know that one by now, I did that one a LOT."

Meanwhile, JP (Jack Whitehall, looking about 35) is still painfully convinced that he's some kind of ladies' man, while hopeless Kingsley somehow accidentally is. A misguided party, several inappropriate hook-ups and - of course - no mention whatsoever of anything to do with classes or studying: the university life still proves fertile ground for cringeworthy humour. And a dopey running gag involving Josie, who has transferred to another uni, ends up being far more comical than it should be.

But Fresh Meat's real strength is in its characters, who are each trying to be something they're not (apart, perhaps, from Howard, who has accepted his loserdom and will probably end up more successful than them all). Yet they're all completely recognisable as basically sincere young people just trying to work out who they are.

Almost by stealth, this vaguely satirical, topical stand-up showcase has made it to a fifth series. Functioning as a sort of halfway-house testing ground between Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You, it's seen a surprisingly illustrious stream of light-entertainment talent pass through its doors.

Jack Whitehall, Kevin Bridges, Patrick Kielty and Rich Hall have all made appearances before moving on; this time Paul Chowdhry takes over hosting duties while regulars Seann Walsh and Josh Widdicombe are joined by newbies Simon Evans, Romesh Ranganathan and Angela Barnes in sticking the boot into the week's news. Decent post-pub fun, if you're in the market for that sort of thing.

Jack Whitehall's joke writer works alone with new book

You may not recognise Freddy Syborn, but you will have heard his punchlines. Syborn, 26, is Jack Whitehall's joke writer.

The scheduling of the first two series of Sam Bain's and Jesse Armstrong's student comedy mimicked the university year by starting in early October, so it's a later-than-usual, but still hugely welcome, return for Vod, Oregon, Howard, JP, Kingsley and Josie - except that Josie has transferred to university in Southampton, her inclusion here a stroke of comic genius.

Renaming the house "Pussy Haven", JP (Jack Whitehall) starts a dry-slope skiing society with a strict admittance policy described as "eugenics run by FHM". Vod (Zawe Ashton) has meanwhile returned from her travels with an amorous South American she soon bores of, and Howard manages to land a proper date. The outcome is genuinely heartbreaking.

Lessons I learned from watching Bad Education

I'm not calling Bad Education groundbreaking television, but I eventually came to feel affection for history teacher Alfie Wickers (Jack Whitehall) and his classroom full of underachieving teenagers.

The unfeasibly tall Greg Davies, best known for his explosions of exasperation in Cuckoo and The Inbetweeners, reveals his surreal side in this mildly manic sitcom which charts the comic misadventures of Dan.

A teacher who makes Jack Whitehall's Alfie in Bad Education look like an Ofsted box-ticker, Dan delights in indulging his pupils with wild flights of sci-fi fantasy, while outside the classroom his personal life is falling down quicker than his trousers. It's all mildly bonkers.

Jack Whitehall and Michael Whitehall interview

Jack Whitehall introduces 'the funniest man in the world' - his dad, Michael Whitehall.

The battle of the Friday night chat shows is rejoined, with Graham Norton returning to the pitch Channel 4 rival Alan Carr has had to himself these past few weeks.

Norton is hitting big on opening night, with Hollywood legend Harrison Ford, on the promo trail for new movie Ender's Game, and the versatile Benedict Cumberbatch dropping by for a chat and Jack Whitehall providing the funnies.

Friday nights get a boost as the chat show returns after too long a break. Maybe it's because he packs his sofa with three celebrities simultaneously that Norton's shows go with a partyish swing. At best they can throw up the kind of unlikely encounters that give us a glimpse of the real person under the celebrity armour. Then again, that armour rarely comes thicker than Harrison Ford's: he pays a visit tonight to promote his new sci-fi movie Ender's Game.

More exciting is the visit of the hallowed Benedict Cumberbatch, fresh from playing Julian Assange on the big screen. Jack Whitehall will be on the comedy end of the couch while James Blunt provides the music.