Jim Davidson

Reconstructing Jim Davidson

Jim Davidson, starring as a bigoted comic in a new play he has written, has apologised for any offence his humour might have caused in the past. So would it be possible for such a controversial figure to make a comeback?

Come Fly With Me Defended... by Jim Davidson

TV viewers have complained that Matt Lucas and David Walliams' new comedy series set in an airport is racist.

Lady-mountain Miranda Hart continued tonight on her cheerfully disgraceful bumble through life, humiliating herself every step of the way as she tried to earn the respect and admiration of her friends and family.

Her sitcom is one in which a lone burp constitutes comedy worthy of a generous burst of canned laughter and the only discernible motif is the main character falling over.

Physical humour has become as unfashionable as Jim Davidson in the world of television comedy and much of Miranda's work comes across as camp and a bit daft.

There were, however, flashes of genuine wit in tonight's episode. On discovering that she had to go to a funeral without knowing who'd died, Miranda remarked that if she didn't know who was in the box, the funeral would 'be like Deal Or No Deal, but with people.'

As usual, the audience took on the part of Miranda's confidante, sympathising with her when her smugly married friends talked to her imitating the voice of their unborn baby and her mother disapproved of her inability to find a boyfriend.

Three or four more (equally ridiculous) storylines followed, one of which culminated in Miranda reading Mein Kampf to a group of small children in a library.

Miranda's fictionalised version of herself is a bit of an oddball and her humour is scatological-bordering-on-low-brow. But perhaps the reason for the sitcom's success is that it's so refreshing to see a woman on television who is a classic clown, without even a hint of grace or poise about her.

Miranda Hart is just one of those naturally funny people and for all this sitcom's silliness, her efforts are a joy to watch.

Few laughs as paper appoints Jim Davidson

Journalists at the Torquay-based Herald Express are not laughing. They are outraged that following a spate of redundancies the paper has taken on a new columnist, the comedian Jim Davidson.

Jim Davidson: I'll keep jokes clean for panto audience

Foul-mouthed comic Jim Davidson has promised to be squeaky clean during his panto run in Scotland.

Jim Davidson aims to turn stand-up on its head

The unreformed arch-enemy of PC comedy has shocked his critics once again - this time by penning a piece of self-satire.

Jim Davidson fined £130 for speeding

Comic Jim Davidson was yesterday fined £130 for speeding even though he claimed he was not driving.

So, Shooting Stars returned to our screens last night and for me, there was a lot riding on it. The show had been one of my favourite things in the history of telly and revisiting it could have been suicide for the show. However, Vic and Bob still have a penchant for the ridiculous, so there wasn't too much to worry about... right? After watching the latest offering, back after a so-so Christmas special, last night proved to be more of the same.

Kicking off with the good, the New Shooting Stars felt comfortingly familiar. The Dove From Above, Vic perving over the Pretty Guest, the oddball contraptions, George Dawes' song and the pisstake homage to something from the world of pop culture... it was all there and for the most part, pretty decent. Not uniformly brilliant, but decent all the same.

The biggest laugh (personally) came with a puerile, gross-out joke, which saw Vic unveiling his skiddy underpants to The One Show's Christine Bleakley, who clearly didn't know what the hell to do. Nor did the rest of the studio, which has always been the calling card of Shooting Stars. Everything falls apart and you feel a bit drunk whilst it is all going off around your ears.

However... some parts of the show dragged a bit. Like a snake wearing a nappy filled with boiled cabbage. Vic looked a little tired, leaving Bob to provide the octane. One joke made me grimace (not in a good way). Yep. The one about "Enid Brighton" That was followed up with Ray Kay Rowring and, to be honest, I've always expected more from this pairing. For a duo that could pluck a joke from absolutely nowhere, to lean on Foreign People Talk Funny Don't They? jokes is a let-down. You wouldn't like it if Jim Davidson told it.

However, at times, it was typically brilliant from Vic and Bob. Bob's "loooving you, is easy coz your boobs are new" at Ulrika was great fun and the endgame was pleasantly odd. Yet at other times, it felt like Elvis in Vegas, with people gamely clapping along to the old hits whilst a slightly tubby man didn't quite nail it like he used to.

With any luck, they're finding their stride again and as the new series continues, it'll hit vintage form again. I hope so at any rate.

Unfunny chirpy, cheeky Cockney Jim Davidson was a huge ITV star in the late 70s and 1980s. They gave him two sitcoms: Up the Elephant and Round the Castle (1983-85) in which he played chirpy, cheeky, Cockney, chauffeur Jim London and its sequel Home, James (1987-90). Both were about as funny as a wet weekend in Wigan.

Originally written for Jim Davidson (says it all really), this groan-inducing ITV sitcom debuted in 1984 with Robin Askwith (faded 70s/80s star) as a randy football-loving milkman. Writer Vince Powell also created Love Thy Neighbour and Mind Your Language so we're not exactly in TV heaven here...