Jimmy Carr

Izzard and Carr added to Secret Policeman's Ball cast

The full cast for this Sunday's Secret Policeman's Ball has been unveiled, with Chris O'Dowd, Matt Berry, Jimmy Carr and Eddie Izzard joining the line-up.

Jimmy Carr joins The Secret Policeman's Ball

Jimmy Carr will join the stellar line up for Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball.

Channel 4 must have faith in 10 O'Clock Live, considering that it got quite a bashing during the first series.

It suffered from many problems; chief amongst them was the hype surrounding the first series with people comparing it to The Daily Show, which was suicidal given how hugely successful and respected The Daily Show is.

However, the second series has come around with almost no fan fair at all. The regulars are still the same. Jimmy Carr's still filling the role of gag-man newsreader; Charlie Brooker's still filling the role of grumpy man who looks at the TV; David Mitchell's still filling the role of grumpy man who interviews people; and Lauren Laverne's still filling the role of the sensible token northern woman that leaves people asking, "Couldn't they find a female comedian instead?"

While there were some laughs, much of the show was still below par. One routine, which featured Jimmy Carr as Vladimir Putin wearing a fake padded muscle suit and wrestling a man in a bear costume, just didn't grab me at all.

It's nice to see that the channel still has some faith in the programme, but I just don't think it is going to work.

The nervy satire show that looked set for a quiet demise after ratings halved in the course of the first series is back.

Despite the odd misfire, the show often sparked into something a bit special. David Mitchell proved a sharp interviewer; Jimmy Carr's news monologues were genuinely funny; and if you enjoy Charlie Brooker in rant mode, this was the place for you.

For the second series, we're promised a tweak to the format and a shorter running time.

A second series for the live comedy and current affairs show hosted by David Mitchell, Charlie Brooker, Lauren Laverne and Jimmy Carr. The recommission must have been touch and go, but the strand just about warrants persevering with. The first run was inevitably patchy and Laverne seemed underemployed in comparison to her male counterparts. But it got enough right in a lively enough style to merit another go. Weirdly, it managed a few scoops too; 10 O'Clock Live was the first show to announce both Alan Johnson's resignation and the UN's commitment to a No Fly Zone in Libya. By its very nature, live satire is probably doomed to miss as many targets as it hits. But, given the current volatility of world events, this might be a show in the right place at the right time.

This patchily brilliant news satire show returns for its second series, still live and still at 10 o'clock - even though these are two factors that might have contributed to the disappointing ratings for series one.

Surely, there's a fair chance that anyone who's genuinely interested in current affairs might be watching the real news over on ITV or the BBC in the same time slot?

Other than a slightly pruned running time and a move to Wednesdays, it'll be interesting to see what other tweaks have been made. A much clearer role for Lauren Laverne would be nice, for instance. But we look forward to seeing who out of funnymen Charlie Brooker and David Mitchell will win the battle of the erudite, ­eye-bulging rant, plus Jimmy Carr sails ever closer to the wind during another of his ­fancy dress news monologues. "Too late. It's live, what can you do?" he shrugged innocently after one gasp-inducing joke about Saudi Arabia.

Despite ratings plummeting during the first series, this satirical show has been given a second go. It's a talented team - including Jimmy Carr riffing on news, Charlie Brooker ranting on hypocrisy and David Mitchell ruminating on the personalities within. Lessons have evidently been learnt from the less than overwhelming feedback from series one - hopefully the shorter running time will create a snappier format - but it could be some time yet before this hits the US heights of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

They're back! Let's meet the team: "Hello. I'm Jimmy Carr and even though I don't really fit here because my one-liners are better when they're apolitical, my monologues are still the best thing on the show."

"Hi, I'm David Mitchell. I'm going to do some uncomfortable interviews, where I'm not really at my best."

"I'm Charlie Brooker. I'm going to do Screenwipe, only live."

"I'm a token woman."

Ah, we're poking fun, of course. There were good things about 10 O'Clock Live, in the end (at least it's not a panel show. Yet). And this shorter running time and willingness to be a bit looser should help. If they killed everyone in the audience, that'd be even better, but perhaps asking a bit much for this series.

Jimmy Carr whipped into shape for Sport Relief

Fearne Cotton has revealed that she is "whipping" Jimmy Carr into shape for this year's Sport Relief.

Jimmy Carr hosts the annual pub quiz-inspired trawl through the year's news, traditionally played with a mixture of ill-concealed steely ambition and devil-may-care loucheness, depending on whether Russell Brand is on one of the panels or not.