Jo Brand

Someday, TV will succeed in its long quest to find a settled role for Jo Brand and we'll all live happily ever after. Meanwhile, in this new series for Dave, Brand defies her reputation as the least physically inclined of comedians by plunging into water, in all its various British manifestations. In between bouts of standup, we'll see her criss-crossing the country in her custom-made swimsuit, leading the charge through sewerage systems and grey seas. Tonight, accompanied by Sean Lock, she assays the Maldon Mud Race. It's giving nothing away to reveal that she gets covered in mud.

Video: Jo Brand takes on charity mud race

Jo Brand appears on BBC Breakfast to talk about her new series.

Jo Brand: fat jokes matter

What's a middle-aged female comedian doing jumping off high diving boards on a blokey channel called Dave?

Having children is fab says Jo Brand

Even being mistaken for her children's granny can't wipe the smile off Jo Brand's face.

Jo Brand won't be in US version of Getting On

Jo Brand is happy for her Getting On co-stars to appear in the US version of the show - but she won't be joining them.

Jo Brand interview

Jo Brand on friendships with men, the charm of Jeremy Clarkson, and why she's not going to be Brucie.

Fans of the whimsical quiz show QI can look forward to a long night on the sofa tonight, with a run of four repeated episodes (the first of which is at 9.00pm) sandwiched around this jolly documentary about the making of the series. Featuring clips from the archives as well as interviews with Stephen Fry, Alan Davies, Jo Brand et al, it goes back to the genesis of the series - which was originally conceived as a radio show - and includes a rare glimpse of the bashful research team affectionately known as the "QI Elves".

Jo Brand plunges into the deep end of comedy

Jo Brand returns to our T.V screens this September, slipping on a custom made swimsuit for "Jo Brand's Big Splash". The new 4-part series combines travelogue and stand up during which the reluctant but intrepid explorer dives from the terrifying heights of Olympic springboards to fish for golf balls.

Watching this series's parade of classic comedy clips, chosen by comedians of today, confirms the theory that some people just have funny bones. It wouldn't matter if Tommy Cooper were clipping his toenails or performing the elaborately shambolic glass bottle trick from 1974 that is replayed here tonight: the fez-wearing comedian induces guffaws just because of who he is. Similarly, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore go wildly off-script in their "Pete and Dud" sketch in the art gallery and start giggling, but they're naturally funny together, as Phill Jupitus and Rhod Gilbert attest here. Funny comes in many packages, and while the American stand-up Joan Rivers, chosen by Graham Norton and Jo Brand as a favourite, is well-known for her shock tactics, her outrageous quips about growing old on The Graham Norton Show appeared to take even Norton aback at the time. Other treats featured are the University Challenge scene from The Young Ones in 1984, co-starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, and the bit in the Monty Python film Life of Brian in which Graham Chapman's Brian Cohen exhorts his followers to think for themselves. It may be a clip show and most of the clips are more than familiar, but it surely contains more laughs per minute than any of the newer comedies on television tonight.