Nick Helm

It all sounds very About A Boy. A selfish, immature thirty-something gets landed with caring for an intelligent, far-too-grown-up-for-his-age 11-year-old. But Uncle - the fourth and final pilot in the 4Funnies strand - isn't an fluffy romcom, it's a smart, foul-mouthed sitcom with a brilliantly rude lead performance by stand-up circuit fave Nick Helm.

Andy (Helm) is a depressed, selfish, washed-up musician on the cusp of killing himself. But just before he can take the suicide plunge he receives a call from his single-mum sister Sam (Daisy Haggard), who begs the miserable layabout to pick up her son, Errol, from school and take him to football practice. Andy hates Errol and Errol hates Andy, but when a blackmailing truce is called, they begin to get along. If this all sounds a little predictable, it is. But Uncle's sharp script shows promise - it's packed with jokes and neatly balances dark gags and cutesy morals. And Helm's performance makes Andy a sweary, sarcastic, self-centred treat.

The latest 4Funnies pilot stars standup Nick Helm in his acting debut. Oliver Refson has written and directed Uncle, in which Helm plays Andy, an out-of-work musician charged with looking after his 11-year-old nephew Errol on the day he hoped to kill himself. Typical. The simple task of taking him to football practice, though, spirals into a bizarre adventure for the pair, involving a faked injury, a car crash and a trip to a gay club. Oh, and lies. Lots of lies.

Frankie Boyle makes for a supremely incongruous presence on a broadcaster shortly to be taken over by Paralympics coverage. All part of the glorious diversity of Channel 4's offerings, we suppose, but there's certainly something telling in the absence of preview material for the comic's new show. Could the lawyers be working right up to transmission? (Actually, no - the show hadn't actually been filmed by the time we wrote this - thanks to Frankie Boyle for the tip-off.) But the name isn't just a groansome pun: this is Frankie's take on the Windsors' annual cringeathon, with red carpet chat, music, celebrity guests and comedy from the likes of Sarah Millican, Rob Delaney and Nick Helm. 'I will appear on TV for very possibly the last time... it cannot end in anything but disaster,' says the man himself. Confrontational and controversial, or just a load of hot air? Tune in to find out.

For those wondering what a variety performance hosted by Frankie Boyle would look like, here it be: an "entertainment extravaganza" featuring guest musicians and comedians such as Rob Delaney and Nick Helm. Boyle has also hinted this may be his final TV performance. And that being the case, it may apparently be even more controversial than usual! We wait with unbated breath.

An Edinburgh comedy judge's diary: the gaffer of gaffer

As The Boy With Tape on His Face, Sam Wills drags mime into today; Nick Helm bawls audiences out. Both use games, interactivity, sketches and standup - is this variety comedy?

BBC Three has launched a new comedy show starring a comedian called Russell, to go alongside its other big comedy series, also starring a comedian called Russell.

Live at the Electric is a show which mixes stand-up from Russell Kane with sketches and songs from a huge range of different performers: Humphrey Ker, Nick Helm, and American Hari Kondabolu, as well as sketch troupes Two Episodes of Mash, Jigsaw, Wittank, Lady Garden and Totally Tom.

As with any show featuring so many acts, the quality varies from skit to skit. However, you can almost find something you like. For me, my favourite moment was Wittank's sketch in which a man finishes a job interview, only for his suitcase to open a huge torrent of porn mags falls out of it.

If I were to criticise anything it would be the camera work, mainly duringl Kane's stand-up. I don't mind it if it cuts to Kane talking to camera, but often it would cut to a shot from the back of the stage, filming through a broken window for the supposed purposes of being cool. No, just stick to Kane, or the audience reaction. Don't cut it so you can't actually see anyone.

I would urge readers to give Live at the Electric a go, partly because it's highly entertaining but mainly because it attracted less than half-a-million viewers when it went out on Thursday. So it will only be a matter of time before Zai Bennent, head of BBC Three, axes this along with the rest of the channel's comedy output...