Michael McIntyre

Michael McIntyre: lowest-common-denominator or saviour?

The critical knives are sure to be out for the return of Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow tomorrow - but this is just cultural snobbery. The stand-up deserves his huge audiences.

Michael McIntyre and Kevin Bridges

Tomorrow night, Michael McIntyre is taking his Comedy Roadshow to the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, and local favourite Kevin Bridges is headlining.

We caught up with Kevin and asked him a few questions...

Michael McIntyre loses his famous chubby cheeks

He was affectionately called the 'chubby-cheeked ex-public school boy' by Jonathan Ross, but that tag certainly no longer applies to Michael McIntyre. The comic debuted a new slimline look as he walked the red carpet of the GQ Men of the Year awards last week.

This year's comedy debutants are a mixed bunch

This year's comedy debutants are a mixed bunch, but it wouldn't be the Fringe if they were all as slick as Michael McIntyre.

Kevin Bridges and Frankie Boyle on the football pitch

Up and coming Scottish comedian Chris Forbes chats to stv.tv about Michael McIntyre backstage and the Com Com football team, starring Kevin Bridges, Frankie Boyle and Fred McAuley.

Meet the don of British comedy: Addison Cresswell

Who's the biggest name in comedy? Michael McIntyre? Alan Carr? Jonathan Ross? Well, it's none of these. There's one man bigger than them all. Addison Cresswell.

If the producers of The One Show were looking to replace Adrian Chiles with a host who displays a similar enthusiasm for the minutiae of modern life, then matey Mancunian comic Jason Manford should be a sound appointment. Here, the 8 Out of 10 Cats star is captured at the Manchester Apollo on his 2009 stand-up tour, pondering the unspoken rules of the living room, the road and the men's room; imagine Michael McIntyre, except not so well-spoken and with more gags about parallel parking. Manford's humour is gentle - he elicits few gasps or belly-laughs - but his eagerness to interact with the audience is genuine and it's a pleasure to spend an hour in his company.

The rise of the squealing, scampering pup has been phenomenal. His 2008 Live & Laughing tour, from which this show was plucked, spawned the fastest-selling DVD ever for a stand-up (or in his case, a roam-around). It probably won't whet your appetite to scan his list of topics: traffic, wake-up calls, limp handshakes... but the kinetic comic is a master at latching onto detail that chimes with the audience. Michael McIntyre may be the yin to Frankie Boyle's yang, but his vast following makes him a very big yin indeed. Billy Connolly, beware.

Michael McIntyre eyes up next Roadshow recruits

Think you've had a weird job interview? Try going out in front of a packed Comedy Store with at stake a slot on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. It sure beats 'so what are your weaknesses?'

This update of Channel 4's 2007 poll of the 100 greatest stand-ups should include some of the new comedy stars who have risen to fame since. It's unlikely that Frankie Boyle, Russell Howard or Michael McIntyre will have shot straight in at No1, but four hours of watching skits from some of the nation's funniest people remains an undiluted pleasure.