Rhod Gilbert

Glaswegian comedian Frankie Boyle's controversial interjections on Mock The Week turned that show into must-see TV for many, and his loss made the show immediately less infamous. There's certainly a place for Boyle's brand of "shock comedy" on network television, particularly in a landscape currently dominated by family-friendly comics like Michael McIntyre, Rhod Gilbert and John Bishop. Sadly, Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights is a horrendous mess, on the evidence of its first episode.

It uses a tried-and-trusted format: stand-up comedy interspersed with sketches. What's unfortunate is that (a) Boyle's stand-up routines are taken directly from his recent tour, meaning many fans will have heard the jokes before, and (b) the sketches were idiotic attempts at shocking people that dragged on past their natural end points. The first sketch, running with the idea that David Hasselhoff's character in Knight Rider was mentally ill, was perhaps the worst offender - a target 25 years out of date, a stupid idea you'd expect from a schoolboy, producing a sketch that seemed to last forever. Other sketches included candid camera spoof "Hide Me, I've Killed A Kid", an animated "George Michael's Highway Code" (topical?) and a bizarre parody of The Green Mile where the black character's supernatural power came from... raping people?

Tramadol Nights was objectionable in a way it wasn't aiming for; a show with zero intelligence behind it. I could scarcely believe Frankie Boyle's the bearded ringmaster of this tripe, as the prospect of a Channel 4 comedy from him was a delicious prospect up until last night. Too much of its sketches were pale excuses for Boyle to visually enact jokes that work better in the minds of an audience being told them verbally. At the very least, someone should have reminded Boyle that a sketch works best if it's less than two-minutes long, not twice that.

The sole positive: you don't need to buy Frankie Boyle's DVD as a stocking filler this Christmas, because it seems likely all of its material will be served up here each week.

Rhod Gilbert's funny business

He's Welsh, a bit gruff and very funny. Comedian Rhod Gilbert tells why he gave his tour such a strange name and reveals his success is all down to a nagging girlfriend.

Rhod Gilbert: 'People either love me or hate me'

Insecure? Painfully shy? Can't deal with criticism? Welcome to the real world of Wales' most popular comedian, Rhod Gilbert. The stand-up shares some home truths with Nathan Bevan.

Does this seem familiar? Ask Rhod Gilbert...

When BBC One launched Ask Rhod Gilbert last week, it seemed to offer a new take on the panel-show format. But viewers have been quick to point out that the show bears a remarkable similarity to another programme... BBC Northern Ireland's Great Unanswered Questions.

Lloyd Langford interview

They live together and laugh together - and now they're on a primetime TV show together. An interview with Lloyd Langford about life at home and play with Rhod Gilbert.

We Ask Rhod Gilbert About His New Show

As a regular on panel shows Mock The Week, 8 out of 10 Cats, and Never Mind the Buzzcocks Rhod Gilbert has proved to us--and more importantly, broadcasters--that he's more than capable of keeping us entertained. He's proved such a hit that BBC One have granted him his own show--Ask Rhod Gilbert, a question-led panel show that launched last Monday. We took the title of the show literally and caught up with the comedian so he could tell us more...

In tonight's episode of the comedy panel show, guests Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Rufus Hound, Miranda Hart and Rhod Gilbert compete to disentangle outlandish fact from fiction. Can it be true, for instance, that Fearnley-Whittingstall allows his dog to lick a well-known yeast extract spread off his face? Has Hound visited every pub called The Red Lion inside the M25, apart from four? Comedian Rob Brydon is the host, with David Mitchell and Lee Mack as the team captains.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, protector of poultry, guardian of gourds and foragers' friend, only gets picked for panel shows because he doesn't kick up a stink when comedians tease him for being a wet hedge-muncher. Here, though, his sense of self-humour is tested to the max when he reads out the line, "Occasionally, I put Marmite on my face and let my dog lick it off." If Hugh's telling the truth, he's an even better sport than we've given him credit for. But, all angles considered, we watched hoping it was a fib. The alternative is just too creepy. Also guesting is Miranda Hart who, thankfully, gets through the half-hour without once referencing her boringly self-deprecating belief that she looks like a man. Best in show is David Mitchell's fight with Rhod Gilbert over the aforementioned yeast-based spread.

Ask Rhod Gilbert

Rhod Gilbert's brand new TV show, Ask Rhod Gilbert, is coming soon to BBC One. And they have a message for you...

Rhod Gilbert is still looking over his shoulder

Grumpy comic Rhod Gilbert should be on top of the world. His new radio series is about to start, he's lined up for the 70,000-seater Help for Heroes concert and is in the frame to replace Graham Norton on BBC1. But the glass-all-empty funny man is adamant there's still time for things to go wrong.