Katherine Ryan

Eddie Marsan drawls opaque riddles as Bob Dylan, in the first of a series of tall tales about the famous. August, 1993: Dylan arrives in London, alone, and proceeds to Crouch Hill, where Dave Stewart has told him to visit any time. At the address Bob's written down, Ange (Katherine Parkinson) confirms Dave (Paul Ritter) will be back in a sec, and shows him into the front room... it's the sort of gleefully ephemeral comic oddity BBC2 might once have felt able to indulge in.

New Netflix special for Katherine Ryan

Katherine Ryan's most recent live stand-up show is to air exclusively on Netflix next month.

No sooner has The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year conga'd by, than a new series returns with more questions pertaining to the past 100,000 years of human history. Jonathan Ross, David Walliams, Katherine Ryan, Aisling Bea, Noel Fielding and Richard Ayoade will once again be answering headscratchers posed by Jimmy Carr, such as why do tennis players wear white? And what diet did William the Conqueror attempt?

Preview - Big Fat Quiz of Everything

Jimmy Carr hosts the show that's bigger, fatter, and quizzier than ever, letting loose on not just the year-gone-by but well... everything.

Not so long ago, the idea of president Donald J Trump seemed the stuff of which surreal, grotesque, fantastical comedic riffs might be fashioned (indeed, Boyle did exactly that, on several, clearly fate-tempting occasions). In this recently recorded show, he and accomplices Sara Pascoe, Katherine Ryan, Michelle Wolf and Richard Osman face a daunting challenge now that it's about to be a reality.

Here you can watch Frankie Boyle tear into Donald Trump. Why would you watch anything else? He declares that Trump is not just the wrong person for the job of president but might even be the wrong mammal. Quite. And he predicts that the US presidential race was so absurd, and between two such unappealing candidates, that the next one might be run between a toaster and an ostrich.

However, there are some kind words for Hillary: "For a granny she was quite good at email." Boyle is joined by the annoyingly ubiquitous Katherine Ryan and Sara Pascoe. These are mediocre comedians and it feels like they've been thrown in so the BBC can tick a box on gender equality but also to dilute the acid of Frankie Boyle. Which is a shame. Give him the spotlight, uninterrupted. You don't see John Oliver being forced to share the stage when he eviscerates Trump. The show is a mix of Frankie's brilliant stand-up and some watered down chat with his relatively genteel guests.

Review: Frankie Boyle's American Autopsy

Don't, of course, watch American Autopsy for definitive answers. This was recorded shortly after the vote and I suspect the panel was as shellshocked as the rest of us by the result. But everyone is good value and I suppose I should mention that it's excellent to have so many women on one show. But one final thought. I can't help thinking that when Frankie Boyle sounds like the voice of reason the world really has turned upside down.

Taskmaster: a funny, most unexpected comedy

Dave's Taskmaster is ace at everything but balanced representation. Sort that, and it could be one of the most enjoyable shows on TV...