Michael Hogan

A Young Doctor's Notebook review

Michael Hogan says A Young Doctor's Notebook relies too much on its star credentials.

Matt Berry on Toast of London

Cult sitcom star Matt Berry talks about his ageing thespian, Steven Toast.

Man Down, Channel 4, review

There were some amusingly sarky lines, mostly snarled with relish by Greg Davies. Overall, however, the tone was strained and awkward.

The IT Crowd, Channel 4, review

The last-ever episode of Channel 4's successful sitcom was a brilliant blend of humour and poignancy, says Michael Hogan.

The Wrong Mans, BBC Two, review

The Wrong Mans is another success for James Corden, says Michael Hogan.

Peep Show turns 10

Michael Hogan looks back over the past decade to see why Peep Show has become the longest-running sitcom in Channel 4's history.

How Alan Partridge are you?

It comes to us all: one minute you're laughing uproariously at North Norfolk Digital's most pompous broadcaster; the next minute, you have a pang of paranoia that you're getting old and turning into him.

The irresistible rise of David Walliams

Michael Hogan charts the rise of David Walliams, from cable show impressionist to Britain's Got Talent judge and primetime sitcom star.

In 2008, controversy magnet-cum-comedian Russell Brand quit the BBC in shame over "Manuelgate". Now his rehabilitation at the Corporation is complete. Last month, he sat on the Question Time panel alongside that other womanising wag, Boris Johnson. Today Brand appeared on another Beeb institution, Desert Island Discs (Radio 4).

Prompted by the gently probing Kirsty Young, Brand reflected on that notorious 2008 prank phone call to actor Andrew Sachs. He talked of "nearly breaking" his beloved BBC but described the storm as a "dishonest scandal" created by "privately owned media with a pre-existing agenda to attack the BBC". Five years on, he still seemed slightly confused: contrite yet defiant, taking the blame yet deflecting it elsewhere.

Young mentioned her castaway's "beguilingly florid turn of phrase" in her introduction and Brand duly delivered, describing his father as a "sporadically present peripatetic figure" and himself as a "shamanic libido lizard". He confessed to being tired, which rendered him calm, thoughtful and less manic than his stand-up persona.

Brand talked frankly and movingly about his childhood loneliness and mother's cancer. He paid tribute to his mother and grandmother, admitting that they'd "come between me and the grave on many occasions" and said he wants children "to a point that's almost unseemly in a man".

Quick Cuts, BBC Four, review

It was semi-improvised, giving it a slightly repertory theatre feel, but there were lots of neat lines.