John Bishop (I)

John Bishop says January needs jokes

Comedy king John Bishop reckons having a laugh is the best way to beat the January blues.

Half an hour in the company of John Bishop would be reason enough to tune in, but he's plundered his address book and persuaded his celebrity pals to dust off their favourite one-liners.

Robbie Williams, John Prescott, Ricky Hatton, Freddie Flintoff and Warwick Davis all do their best to make us giggle, along with fellow stand-ups Jason Manford, Jason Byrne, Andi Osho and Mick Miller.

Members of the public are also given the chance to exercise their funny bone, including an impish schoolboy with a joke about poo (naturally) and a side-splitting laugh. As you'd expect from that line-up, it's a mixed bag but squeaky clean, so there's no need to cover young ears.

John Bishop: My three lads don't think I'm funny

Laughing, John Bishop reveals eldest son Joe told him to take a break to come up with some new material.

John Prescott shifts his buttocks around in an armchair. 'So the doctor asks me: "What do you mean you want a flu jab in your left arm AND your right arm?". "Well, why do you think they call me 'two jabs'?".' Such is the quality of gags in this joke-based half-hour presented by John Bishop.

This 'show that always makes you laugh' goes for the funny bone by combining snippets of stand-up from the likes of Jason Manford and Ed Byrne with pre-recorded Christmas cracker-worthy contributions from D-lebrities and members of the public. The stand-up is far and away the highlight in comparison to the cast of Chingford health instructors, Wiltshire factory workers and Heather from EastEnders reeling off funnies that range from the bizarre to the hackneyed.

Entertaining enough, but could probably have done without the to-camera spots from a curiously vacant Bishop.

John Bishop's new series serves scant purpose other than for the comedian to act as compere for a series of clips of fellow stand-ups (among them Jason Manford, Jason Byrne and Mick Miller), celebrities (including Jamie Redknapp, Ricky Hatton, John Prescott and Freddie Flintoff) and members of the public, telling jokes. The series runs to 10 episodes and is entirely dependent on the quality of jokes, which on tonight's evidence aren't very good. They are, however, squeaky clean, so at least it's an option for entertaining family viewing.

Search on for the next Jack Whitehall

Every year begins with such optimism, the trick is to believe that it is all going to work. I've got to believe that I am going to find the next Bill Bailey, Tim Minchin or John Bishop. That's what I will be aiming for at least.

John Bishop pulls in 7m viewers for New Year's repeat

John Bishop capped a spectacular year at the top of British TV with almost seven million viewers tuning in for his show after midnight on New Year's Eve.

Tom Cruise spills the beans about the people he ignores when they tell him "No" and Billy Crystal reveals who he says "Yes" to.

The pair top the bill in this big-name New Year's Eve line-up - and are also joined Rosamund Pike, who stars alongside Cruise in action thriller Jack Reacher.

Adding to the Hollywood head-count is Hugh Jackman who talks about his latest singing role in the film version of Les Miserables and reveals why he's got Russell Crowe to thank for his career.

And our own Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry tell Graham whether they'll be tempted to appear in a US version of The Great British Bake Off.

Also appearing are John Bishop and Pink who tells why she snared her husband. We know what to get Graham for Christmas next year - a bigger sofa.

It's one of the big nights of the year and Graham Norton has a sensational line-up to celebrate. In fact, it has the potential to be such a wild and funny show maybe you should cancel your plans to go out to that warm-wine-and-nibbles party you weren't particularly looking forward to and just stay in instead.

So how about this lot to make your New Year's Eve go with a proper swing: Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman, Billy Crystal, John Bishop and The Great British Bake Off's Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, with music from Pink. Incredible, isn't it? What will the sainted Mary make of it all? Will Cruise, in town to promote his new film Jack Reacher, be acquainted with soggy bottoms? Can Jackman, starring in the movie version of Les Misérables, make rough-puff pastry? We need to know.

John Bishop wrote and stars in this comedy drama, inspired by his own experiences on the pantomime circuit. He plays Lewis Loud, a Morecambe FM DJ making his stage debut as Jack the Lad in a run of Dick Whittington in Lancaster.

The production is in chaos because Lewis is romantically involved with Tamsin, a soap actress who's playing principal boy Dick (Mrs Biggs' and Gavin & Stacey's Sheridan Smith). Not only that, but old ham Johnny Darby (Michael Cochrane) is a very reluctant pantomime Dame and The One and Only 90s chart star Chesney Hawkes is a walking disaster.