Reginald D Hunter

Video: Reginald D. Hunter interview

Comedian Reginald D. Hunter joined BBC Breakfast to talk about his new show The Truth.

Hunter has been on the comedy scene since 2002 when he was nominated for the best newcomer award at The Edinburgh Festival.

Originally from Georgia in the US, Hunter has been living and performing in the UK for the last 14 years.

Before the interview even started BBC Breakfast presenter Sian Williams was tickled by something Hunter said to her co-presenter Bill Turnbull.

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A topical news quiz on Friday night in which a witty panel are quizzed about the week's events. Hang on, haven't we seen this before? For the past 20 years?

Well, The Bubble has a twist. The guests are shut away from the world for a few days beforehand so they are oblivious to the stories, and then have to guess which one of a selection of them is true, and which are false.

Despite a few clunky elements, we enjoyed it. We're not sure we'll enjoy it every week, but in this opener the blend of guests and host was perfect.

Host David Mitchell's awkwardness in chairing proceedings amused through his discomfort in having to control and guide a show rather than the liberation of a panellist who can rant and rave without restriction. A weakness that Reginald D. Hunter took full advantage of, hilariously mocking the subdued Mitchell at every opportunity.

Victoria Coren's simmering disdain for the mothers of Mumsnet, whom she vilified for their shameless advertising of their fertility and deluded faith that they are in someway important, was a compelling advert for enforced national sterilisation in the belief that an extinct population is better than a conceited one. And she has a point.

While Frank Skinner picked out the idiosyncrasies in the stories, illuminating their absurdity. In the first round, he guessed that a report on Merseyside Police receiving a fine for using a mini-flying camera without permission because he thought an interview with a solicitor was too real: "No actor would play him that bleak."

We're not sure that the guests will be good enough to save it every week. If things get dour, we suppose Mitchell can always storm off on one of his tangential rants about the ridiculousness of the world. The opening news reports, however, were far too long and quite dull, while the show seemed to lack flow. You could see the join between each of the rounds as though the three rounds had been assembled from a much larger kit, most of which had been discarded because of obsolescence.

Although next week we'll be back. Tempted by the prospect of lines as good as: "The man who has celebrated Christmas every day for 14 years has been found crucified in his back garden."

The Bubble is yet another new topical panel show designed to capture the Have I Got News for You/QI audience. Its twist is to sequester participants away for three days without access to any media, and then show them a series of news and gossip stories. They must decide which are real and which are made-up. David Mitchell presents. Frank Skinner, Victoria Coren and comic Reginald D. Hunter are The Bubble's first victims.

David Mitchell hosts a new comedy-news quiz. Now that's what we call a game-changer. No previews available, as it's going to be topical news from the week, but it sounds like Celebrity Big Brother meets Call My Bluff and Mr & Mrs: three slebs are locked in a "media-free zone" for three days and, on exiting, have to pick out the genuine news stories from the invented ones. Tonight, it's the turn of Frank Skinner, Reginald D. Hunter and some poker player to sort out the headlines from the head-lies.

This is an odd one, a current affairs panel show that sounds like a weird hybrid of Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You? and Big Brother. Each week, three celebrity contestants will be locked away in a "media-free zone" without access to phones, television and the internet. After four days they will emerge, blinking into the light, to take their places in a television studio where The Bubble's quizmaster, the frighteningly learned and erudite David Mitchell, will question them on the week's news. But not just any news. The Bubble aims to dig out bizarre news and magazine stories so improbable they sound made up, and put them alongside fake items. It's down to the contestants to guess which ones are true. The Bubble's first participants are Frank Skinner, Reginald D. Hunter and Victoria Coren. We are told the format has done well overseas - but will The Bubble burst over here?

Reginald D Hunter interview

Reginald D. Hunter started doing stand-up for a bet and has gone on to appear on shows such as Have I Got News For You and QI. His new series, It's Only A Theory, starts soon on BBC Four.