Lee Evans

Channel 4 Comedy Gala at the O2 Arena, London SE10

It was billed as "the biggest live stand-up show in UK history". But although this show in aid of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children featured 30-odd comics performing to 15,000 people, with more on video clips, in many ways it conformed to the usual rules of the charity gala. Some acts reminded you why they are stars (Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Jack Dee). Some were good enough to win a lot of new fans (Mark Watson, Kevin Bridges, Patrick Kielty, John Bishop, Rich Hall, Sean Lock). Some did their thing and did it well (Noel Fielding, Jo Brand). Barely anyone died a death. And, though the O2's 11pm curfew forestalled the usual overrun, cor, did Evans, the headliner, strike a chord when he imagined what we were thinking: "Pleeeeease, finish!"

Channel 4 Comedy Gala at the O2 Arena, review

In spite of the sheer size of the O2, Michael McIntyre and Lee Evans succeeded in heating Channel 4's Comedy Gala to combustion point. Rating: * * * *

Sean Lock Interview

He's written for Lee Evans, Bill Bailey and Mark Lamaar. He's a regular panellist on survey-based 8 Out Of 10 Cats, as well as the intellectually stimulating QI. But even he admits to being as thick as a brick.

A chance to see the comedian Lee Evans's performance at the 20,000-seat O2 Arena in London, during his "Big" tour of the UK. The O2 is a staggeringly big venue for a comedian to command single-handedly but Evans fills the space impressively.

Lee Mack, who plays the lead in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out, takes to the stage in London for an hour of stand-up. He's a polished, exuberantly confident performer with a gift for physical comedy reminiscent of Lee Evans.

Think Frank ("Oooh Betty!") Spencer in classic 1970s sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and you'll see where Lee Evans' 2001 sitcom was coming from. It traded on his gift for physical comedy however not enough attention was paid to character development. The series suffered accordingly and few bothered to watch...

Much, but not all, of the humour is rooted in the culture of 1980s Britain, the rise of the yuppie class, the dissatisfaction with Thatcher's Britain and other issues of the day. But the humour isn't all political: there's some broad physical humour courtesy of Lee Evans and Josie Lawrence provides some character-based monologues that satirise the world of television and celebrity.

A couple of the sketches fall flat, however, there are also some real strokes of comic genius too.