John Thomson

The youngster in Billionaire Boy was Joe Spud (Elliot Sprakes) whose poor existence is transformed when his father Len (John Thomson) invents a new type of toilet paper. Whilst Len wants to flaunt his new found wealth, Joe is keen to remain as normal as possible and therefore gets Davis, who plays himself, to enrol him in the local state school. Without his wealth to fall back on, Joe finds a friend who doesn't want him just for his money and also gets treated like just another kid. However, at home, Joe feels his relationship with his father deteriorating after Len begins romancing the gold-digging hand model Sapphire Diamond (Tate). Inevitably the kids at school eventually find out about Joe's identity and this revelation has big side effects for both his class teacher (Rebecca Front) and his relationship with his fellow pupils. I've previously been a fan of the now annual David Walliams adaptations and I was particularly taken with last year's Boy in the Dress, as it felt like it told a very personal story. However, in comparison, Billionaire Boy is a little bit paint-by-numbers for my liking as the central theme of 'money can't buy you happiness' is something that has been done better before. It was also hard to warm to Len, as we saw very little of him before he became a conceited billionaire and therefore I didn't really care when he lost his fortune at the end of the story. Luckily Billionaire Boy was saved by the lively central performance of Elliot Sprakes who was utterly convincing as a normal boy who was keen not to let his wealth change him. The supporting cast also helped add colour to the grotesque characters with Tate being a particular stand out as Sapphire Diamond and Walliams himself putting a memorable cameo as a school dinner lady. Overall, Billionaire Boy was a good way to while away an hour and was one of the only programmes on TV over Christmas that the whole family could watch together. On the other hand I can't help but being a little disappointed as in my opinion Billionaire Boy just didn't stack up against the other Walliams adaptations which have all been highlights of the previous three years' festive schedules.

The BBC once again adapts a David Walliams novel for the festive season. Walliams owes a great deal to Roald Dahl, and this is another tale of a forlorn child in a world of cruel and stupid adults. Elliot Sprakes stars as Joe, whose factory worker dad Len (John Thomson) becomes a billionaire after inventing a new type of toilet roll. But as his dad embraces the bling and a glamorous girlfriend (Catherine Tate), Joe yearns for a normal life and friends. Reliable family fun, with Walliams himself co-starring as a dinner lady.

Radio Times review

David Walliams always manages to make his stories entertaining for kids and adults alike. They're not subtle - there are loads of bottom jokes, the message is pretty obvious and the characters are drawn with the delicacy of a sledgehammer. But they do make you smile and leave you with a warm glow around your heart.

In this one, poor, downtrodden, factory worker Len Spud's (John Thomson) life changes when he invents a new toilet roll and becomes a multimillionaire. He gets a new gold-digging girlfriend (Catherine Tate - terrific in a blonde wig with a Geordie accent) and a kind-hearted celebrity butler (Warwick Davis). But wealth can't buy the one thing his lonely son Joe wants - a friend. Walliams couldn't resist making a cameo appearance - as an unhygienic school dinnerlady.

Like Newsjack, The Show What You Wrote is a comedy show made up of sketches sent in by listeners: a bit like a modern version of Week Ending, though the producers and performers (such as John Thomson, Shobna Gulati and Gavin Webster) are well established. It's only the writers who aren't. You can't tell though: the sketches, chosen from thousands that are sent in by listeners, are on a par with other Radio 4 shows. It's almost impossible to write good jokes for people you don't know already, and yet The Show What You Wrote has an audience that manages to do just that. I hope the writers go on to great things, like writing (better) jokes for Michael McIntyre, or maybe, for themselves.

Another outing for John Thomson/'s comic creation Bernard Righton: a formerly blue club comedian who has attained a left-wing conversion, and reconfigured his act accordingly. Bernard acts as compere on this festive clip show, introducing archival Christmas pieces by the likes of Bill Hicks, Emo Phillips and Les Dawson - all "appearing" at his club. The archival jokes are a lot funnier than Thomson's, which is probably the point, but which makes for strangely uneven viewing.

John Thomson discusses Cold Feet reunion

John Thomson has been talking about the likelihood of a Cold Feet reunion and it seems it's a definite possibility.

John Thomson's favourite TV

The Fast Show and Cold Feet star on his love of Hannibal and magic and his childhood hatred of a certain speaking bear.

"An Englishman an Irishman and a Pakistani ... what a wonderful example of racial integration." So ran a typical joke by Bernard Righton, the PC comedian created by The Fast Show's John Thomson in the early 90s. The effects of common decency on UK comedy were always greatly exaggerated, but, Righton is back in a new series, trawling the archives of classic, vintage stand-up with his own links.