Jane Anderson (II)

Radio Times review

Hugh Dennis and Steve Punt are the perfect hosts for this satirical minefield of a series. They have done it long enough to know when they are teetering on the edge of a brilliant gag or crossing the line into the darkest areas of BBC Compliance.

But they also have a crack production team to thank for this show's success -- it's recorded on a Thursday evening, editing starts at 9am on Friday and it's ready for broadcast at 6.30pm. And it is also a producer I have to thank for informing me that Hugh Dennis is only absent from this first show and back for programme two.

Radio Times review

What would you be doing if you were "astroturfing", a word recently added to the Oxford English Dictionary? It is a malign and online practice, if that clue helps? No? Astroturfing is the sneaky marketing device of posting a positive review of a product or service online and pretending to be a member of the public rather than a company employee.

For all the laughs in this clever panel game -- and there are many -- it is the joy of learning the meaning of new, ancient and foreign words that make this addictive listening. And then there's the words-we-never-knew-we-needed round, where the best was "trage" -- the impotent fury you feel when someone sits next to you on the train.

Radio Times review

At the height of its success, the BBC Light Programme series Educating Archie attracted 16 million listeners. Peter Brough provided the voice, but the star of the show was his wooden doll, Archie.

And so it was also in Brough's life -- Archie was the one everybody wanted to meet, not the man with his hand up a miniature Savile Row-made tailored jacket. Rob Brydon gets two gifts in this biographical drama -- to play Brough and Archie.

The play opens after the funeral of Brough's father -- symbolically, the very night he decides to lock Archie away for ever. But this manic-eyed doll is not going without a fight.

Radio Times review

A middle-aged woman is flying to Venice with her husband when their plane hits terrible turbulence. While he clutches her hand in silence she uses these 13 minutes for an interior monologue on his years of adultery.

Written by Jenny Eclair, this is an exquisitely crafted piece of work, where every simile, every quip, every moment of self-analysis is an orgasmic explosion of language. Lesley Manville sounds like she has so much fun voicing this. I know I did listening to it.

Radio Times review

David Baddiel is quick to point out that the idea for a series in which comedians are penalised if they make an audience laugh was his - the Radio 4 commissioning team did not single him out as the man best suited to host a show where you're not meant to be funny. In actuality, it's almost impossible not to laugh listening to this.

Radio Times review

There's nothing wrong with a sitcom being gentle, especially if it is as well written and acted as this one. Ronnie Corbett returns as the OAP who is determined not to take his children's advice and downsize, at least not while his beloved dog Henry is still alive.

I am sorry to report that this is the final series, which I hope does not mean a sad ending for either man or dog. Make the most of this, while we still have the time.

Radio Times review

Written by and starring the siblings Rebecca and Jeremy Front, this astute satirical comedy returns for a new run. Each of the five spoof documentaries has Jeremy, as a Radio 4 reporter, spending 24 hours in the company of one of the "incredible women" of the title, all played by Rebecca.

Today we encounter Danielle, a reality TV star whose concept of "normal life" has been weirdly warped by having her every move scripted for her - it's a cross between TOWIE and What Katie Did Next. Various famous voices pop up as themselves - Eamonn Holmes, Joanna Lumley, Clare Balding and Dame Stella Rimmington included - and my favourite is Barbara Windsor, who makes a knowing return to her Carry On days as a sexually predatory 87-year-old singer.

Clever, funny, quality writing - this is just what we've come to expect from the Fronts.

Radio Times review

Hilary Lyon's Baggage was one of my favourite radio sitcoms and I am delighted to report that she has improved on this in her new series. While billed as a comedy drama - and there are laughs to be had - the reason why this is such a breath of fresh air is that Lyon has not let easy gags stand in the way of psychological insight.

Set in an ultra-middle-class Edinburgh café, it's what's really going on in the hearts and minds of the four central characters that makes this so compelling.

Radio Times review

If humanity is to survive then we must become a multi-planet species and spread out like a male passenger on the tube seat of the cosmos. With this advice delivered, Helen Keen takes us on an entirely fact-based but very funny journey through the possibilities of travelling to and living on Mars.

Keen strikes the perfect balance between presenting potentially dull facts and keeping the comic pace going, mainly thanks to the sci-fi-blockbuster-voiceover-style commentary from Peter Serafinowicz.

Radio Times review

Martin Jarvis pulls off another one-man, multi-voiced spectacular at Cheltenham, bringing life to Richmal Crompton's naughtiest of schoolboys, William. He's voiced these short stories many times before, but to perform one faultlessly in front of a live audience is a true reflection of his thespian skills.

It is a recipe for both disaster and hilarity when William and his gang, the Outlaws, are asked to look after a baby. No sooner do they have one infant under their charge than they end up with a further two under their "care". The sequence at a baby show is sublime. When asked by the organiser what illnesses the "triplets" have had, William replies "lumbago and gout"!