Lenny Henry

Frank Carson fans line streets of Belfast for funeral

Late comic described as 'prime minister of fun' during service attended by Lenny Henry and Dennis Taylor among others.

Lenny Henry goes public with new love Lisa

Lenny Henry and his girlfriend, producer Lisa Makin, are ready to take a more public approach to their relationship. The actor stepped out with his new love - who bears more than a passing resemblance to his ex-wife Dawn French.

Lenny Henry to explore Shakespeare in ITV1 documentary

Lenny Henry is to front a documentary for ITV in which he explores his relationship with Shakespeare.

To an entire generation, Griff Rhys Jones might be famous for being the man who takes Rory McGrath and Dara O'Briain sailing, climbs mountains, and presents It'll Be Alright On The Night.

The last in this series of three sees him back at the BBC performing the kind of sketches that made him a household name on Not The Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones.

And while the humour is so comfortably old-fashioned your first impression might be that these sketches have been sitting in a drawer since the 1990s, on closer inspection you'll see that there's a whole new bunch of modern obsessions to joke about.

The Reservoir Dogs spoof featuring Griff as Mr Green and former EastEnder Larry Lamb is a lovely mix of the old and the new. But one sketch about firearms in schools, is so mis-judged it wouldn't be a laughing matter in this or any decade.

Griff's other guest stars, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Hollander and Kevin McNally, are well chosen.

But the real draw of the night sees him reunited with his comedy and business partner Mel Smith for a brand new head-to-head sketch - their first together in 16 years.

After resurrecting the comedy of Lenny Henry and Jasper Carrott, there are plenty of other folk who were funny in the 80s who we'd like to see dusted off. More please.

Before I start I should point out that I've never really been a huge fan of Lenny Henry, but I must admit that The One Lenny Henry wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. For me his stand-up was better than his sketches, particularly the material about film piracy and trying not to be funny when performing Othello.

However, most of the sketches were a bit dull, lacklustre in places and in several cases thought he was overshadowed by those alongside him; in particular Peter Serafinowicz and Omid Djalili.

On a final note, during the show Henry gave a short rant about obituaries, saying that when he dies his will probably read "Premier Inn Bloke Dies." I'd just like to say: "Whose fault is that exactly, Lenny?"

Review: The One Lenny Henry (BBC1)

I'm guessing this Friday night slot would have gone to Stephen K. Amos, had his own show not flopped so catastrophically last year. So instead the BBC have revived their only other black comedian of note: the enduring Lenny Henry, who appears to have stopped ageing since 1995.

Remember when they gave Ronnie Corbett his own show last Christmas and called it The One Ronnie? The idea is the same here, as we start a trio of shows involving veteran comics (Griff Rhys Jones and Jasper Carrott follow) who revive old characters and link up with guest stars. Lenny Henry has more old characters than most, and revives memories of sex-obsessed old gent Donovan Bogarde and "cru-shall" Brixton DJ Delbert Wilkins, now coming at us via YouTube.

The best sketch is a showcase for Peter Serafinowicz, playing a white bloke who can't stop talking in black patois, and there are decent spoofs of Twilight and Cee Lo Green videos.

Was the BBC's 2010 Ronnie Corbett-centric Christmas special The One Ronnie really so successful that they feel able to riff on the title for this similarly outdated Lenny Henry showcase? The first minute-and-a-half - as Lenny busts into a serious Swedish crime drama - promises good things, but it's downhill all the way from there: there really isn't a single joke here that works. It's partly redeemed by the fact that Lenny remains an effortlessly likeable performer, even in the most cringeworthy sketches - and there's some spectacularly lazy writing here, particularly when it comes to tackling anything political - and by a guest cast including Ronni Ancona and Peter Serafinowicz. A mostly harmless half hour, but don't expect a comeback.

Lenny Henry reminds us he was once a big name in comedy with this one-off show mixing brand new stand-up and sketches while revisiting some of the best remembered characters from The Lenny Henry Show. Supercool Delbert Wilkins, smooth-talking Donovan Bogarde and love god Theophilus P Wildebeeste rub shoulders with guests Ronni Ancona, Omid Djalili and Peter Serafinowicz in spoofs of The Killing, EastEnders and Twilight, among others.

Video: Lenny Henry on National Theatre debut

Lenny Henry is one of Britain's best known comedians, but he changed direction two years ago by taking on the role of Othello - to huge acclaim.

The star talks to BBC Breakfast about his role in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors at the National Theatre and his one-off TV comedy special - which will be shown this Christmas.