John Bishop (II)

John Bishop beats Ronnie Corbett in battle of 'Britain'

John Bishop's Britain showed its resilience against tough ITV competition last night, according to the latest overnight data.

John Bishop's Britain review

The subjects of music and fashion are on John Bishop's agenda this evening, subject matter bursting with stand-up clichés. Skits about middle-aged men's bad dance moves and the glory of vinyl LPs are older than comedy itself, but the Liverpudlian just about manages to get away with these ancient chestnuts.

I try hard to resist John Bishop; he's loud, brash, coarse and crude. But, dammit, he always gets me in the end. I don't want to laugh, but, yes, there I go. He's good at cheery observation - a dirty version of Michael McIntyre with jokes invariably ending up somewhere below the waist. Like his final, elaborate gag that centres on an involuntary male physical reaction to an extended kissing scene when he starred in Skins. His leery stand-up routine is mixed with filmed contributions from members of the public and minor celebrities, who expound on topics, including this week Awful Music and Guilty Pleasures. Bishop, at his most laconic, does an excellent hatchet-job on U2's Bono at his most sanctimonious and there are extended routines about that old chestnut, men dancing at weddings, and the joys of taping music from the radio as a kid.

The idea of the series is to explore different facets of British culture via the means of reminiscing, re-enacting and no small amount of piss-taking, as John Bishop takes us on a self-deprecating tour of our own recent history.

Annoyingly, much of the history isn't quite recent enough to be recognisable to viewers under a certain age, since the programme's content is aimed squarely at the 30-something market.
If you like rap music and were born too late to become nostalgic when someone asks when you bought your first record, then this music and fashion themed opener was not for you.

Fortunately, the skits and stand-up were funny, while the host and his talking heads - a combination of famous faces and ordinary members of the public - were engaging and endearing.

It's not ground-breaking Saturday night television, but John Bishop's Britain is charming and self-effacing and, as such, quintessentially British.

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Following the success of last year's run, Channel 4 brings back its two and a half-hour stand-up binge for a second run, recorded live at the 02 Arena on Tuesday. The line-up is a familiar assortment of British comedy big shots: John Bishop, Jo Brand, Jack Dee, Jack Whitehall and even some whose names don't begin with "J", such as the inescapable chuckler Michael McIntyre. The fact that all the proceeds go to charity is an easy way of disguising the commission of a safe and inoffensive night of very light entertainment.

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Comedy, music and good causes - it can only be the show that makes you laugh until you give.

Harry Hill, Steve Coogan, Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Ant and Dec and Armstrong and Miller are all doing something funny for money this year, along with the casts of The Inbetweeners, Outnumbered and Miranda.

We can also look forward to a specially shot mini-episode of Doctor Who, and James Corden will be back with the third instalment of his iconic Smithy trilogy - calling in favours from some very big names in showbiz.

Corden will also be one fifth of Fake That - a tribute band which boasts the talents of David Walliams, Alan Carr, Catherine Tate and John Bishop.

Never fear, though, the real Take That will be performing too. In fact, the night's going to be awash with boy-bands, as JLS are in the studio and it's The Wanted's turn to do the official Comic Relief single, Gold Forever.

The music line-up also includes chart-busting Adele, Annie Lennox, Elbow and Gareth Malone, who will be trying to turn some TV chefs into a Comic Relief choir.

Your hosts through this comedy marathon will be Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Michael McIntyre, Graham Norton, Claudia Winkleman and Fearne Cotton.

There have been 12 Red Nose Days since 1988, helping to raise more than £500million to help needy people in the UK and abroad.

There'll also be films from David Tennant, Jack Dee, Ruth Jones and Comic Relief stalwart Lenny Henry, each providing frequent reminders of how your money can help change people's lives for the better.