Marcus Brigstocke

There will be bashful murmurs of agreement when Marcus Brigstocke admits he's no longer able to help his nine-year-old son with his maths. Luckily for him and fellow comic Josh Widdicombe, maths professor Marcus du Sautoy is on hand to guide them through some tricky teasers, as they test their amateur problem-solving against finely tuned maths bod Dara O'Briain.

The challenges are surprisingly difficult, but there is a relatively comprehensible explanation of the most efficient way to wrap a present. Here's a clue: the key is in the width of the strips, and not, as Marcus quips, to take it to the fifth floor of John Lewis.

Marcus Brigstocke interview

The comedian talks, for the first time, about why he's mining his life for laughs.

Ann Widdecombe investigates why Christianity has become a favourite for mockery by comedians. She thinks that the jokes are becoming nastier and aimed at belief itself rather than the institution. She wonders what this says about the place of Christianity in Britain today and asks whether any subject should be beyond critique. Comedians interviewed include Terry Jones and Marcus Brigstocke, plus there's input from baroness Sayeeda Warsi and former archbishop Lord George Carey.

Wife divorces TV comic Marcus Brigstocke

Marcus Brigstocke is being divorced by his wife after she discovered he was having an affair.

"It tastes like ... woman." So came the verdict of 54-year-old Benjamin Zephaniah, on drinking tea for the first time ever as part of I've Never Seen Star Wars (Radio 4). Hosted by Marcus Brigstocke, the programme dares famous types to try common experiences brand new to them; so the poet also had to read Pooh and listen to One Direction. Genuinely funny.

Fifty years of James Bond films. Ten years of guest hosts on Have I Got News for You. How better to meld the two celebrations than by booking Roger Moore to take the hot seat?

The suave former Bond is 85 years old, which by our reckoning makes him the oldest host yet, narrowly pipping Bruce Forsyth (a tough act to follow, mind you). Moore is hoping for an easy ride, saying, "I just hope Ian and Paul will treat this old English actor gently. If not, I'll press the button which releases their chairs into a piranha-filled pool below."

Rachel "Boris's younger sister" Johnson also makes her first appearance on the show and Marcus Brigstocke provides comedic back-up.

Interview: Marcus Brigstocke

Does this Big Society business really work? Are the government just fobbing us off? And can we do their job better than they can? In his first stand-up tour since 2009, political animal Marcus Brigstocke attempts to answer these questions and more in The Brig Society, a show that is "as much a safety valve to let off steam as it is a stand-up show."

If you're missing Josh Widdicombe from Adam Hills's Paralympics show The Last Leg, then you get another dose of the droll comic in this belated Edinburgh dispatch as he hosts Welsh wonder Mark Watson, cosy Iranian Shappi Khorsandi and Radio 4 regular turned Spamalot star Marcus Brigstocke.