Michael McIntyre

Michael McIntyre bounds on stage, newly svelte and very natty in a purple suit. He doesn't look like the most polarising figure in British comedy. Polarising in the sense that mass audiences adore him, while other, less successful comics marinate in resentment whenever his name is mentioned. Fine, yes, McIntyre is very safe (though he says "s**t" twice, to my horror - it's like hearing your favourite auntie swear), but the observational stuff is fun. It may be obvious, but there you go, that's observation for you. Anyway, I like him, and the Glasgow audience at the first of a new run of Roadshows is in his pocket immediately as he tells cute stories about his two small children, revolving doors at airports and trampolines in gardens. None of it will start any revolutions, but who needs that on a Saturday night? He's not Bill Hicks. McIntyre is wildly enthusiastic about the night's acts, including local boy Kevin Bridges, garrulous Canadian Craig Campbell and Radio 4 favourite Milton Jones, whose punning, literal schtick makes my teeth itch with annoyance.

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...

McIntyre: the comedian that comedians love to hate

His Comedy Roadshow pulls in the viewers like no other stand-up TV show for a long time, but not everybody is a fan of Michael McIntyre.

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.