Rhod Gilbert

Edinburgh fringe grilling: Elis James

Next up on our Fringe festival futon of fun is the "excruciatingly funny" (The Scotsman) Elis James, whom to watch doing stand-up is - according to fellow Welshman Rhod Gilbert - "like watching a man with no arms or legs riding a mechanical bull - interesting and funny". Elis' show Daytripper will be part of this month's Five Pound Fringe at The Tron...

Rhod Gilbert interview

If there's one thing Rhod Gilbert doesn't immediately exude, it's optimism. "I'm f*****g up against it at the moment, having a nightmare writing," he says.

Did you hear the one about the Welshman who was funny?

There's never been such a good time for Welsh comedy with the second Cardiff Comedy Festival about to open with golden boy Rhod Gilbert at the helm.

Comic Rhod Gilbert stunned by DVD success

Top comic Rhod Gilbert has rubbished tabloid claims he is laughing all the way to the bank after having made £3m last year. But the Carmarthenshire funnyman, whose Award-Winning Mince Pie show became the fastest-selling debut stand-up DVD of 2009, had to admit that its stratospheric sales had still blown him away.

Some of these half hours of live stand-up comedy are bound to be better than others, but this is one of the very best. It begins with a routine by the manic, semi-hinged Welshman Rhod Gilbert. The last time he was at the Apollo he had apoplexy on stage describing the unnecessary complications of buying a duvet. Fortunately, he hasn't calmed down one iota, and tonight he begins by mocking café life in rain-soaked Cardiff ("people have to throw lifebuoys to their bread rolls") before unleashing a tidal wave of frustration at the complexities of washing machines. He is followed by John Bishop, who could scarcely be more different. Deadpan, bewildered and resigned, he describes the difficulty of bringing up teenage boys. It's a brilliant half hour.

The music panel show continues as Noel Fielding settles into his new role as permanent team captain opposite the immovable Phill Jupitus. Comedian Rhod Gilbert takes the guest presenter's chair tonight (replacing Simon Amstell who has now left the series). Fielding is joined by sports presenter Gabby Logan and Jeremy Reynolds from trendy electro band Hockey. Facing them is a far more intriguing line-up comprised of Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp and gravel-voiced comedian Greg Davies, who plays the angry head of sixth form in The Inbetweeners.

The game show in which panellists aim to conceal truthful statements within falsehood-strewn speeches returns for its fourth series, with David Mitchell as its sardonic host. This raucous first episode was recorded at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The panellists - Rhod Gilbert, Adam Hills, Shappi Khorsandi and Reginald D Hunter - touch upon ingeniously weird topics such as whether Rudyard Kipling invented the game of snow golf (by painting his balls red so that they may be seen against the icy whiteness), and whether Edward VII had a golf bag made from an elephant's scrotum.

For five years now, Live At The Apollo has been bringing us some first-class stand-up comedy. The key difference with this new series, from the same team, is that regular host Michael McIntyre will take it to different venues around the UK, showcasing familiar faces alongside relative newcomers. We start in Edinburgh, where Rhod Gilbert tops the bill.

What do you need if you're touring Britain with a comedy roadshow (apart from Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, of course)? Bags of talent, naturally, and thankfully shooting star Michael McIntyre is loaded. Each week from a different venue (tonight it's the Edinburgh Playhouse), Michael will do a turn then introduce a different headliner (tonight it's Rhod Gilbert), plus three emerging funnymen. Top chuckles.

Anyone who enjoyed Live at the Apollo will be the natural audience for this show fronted by the dangerously ubiquitous Michael McIntyre. I like him a lot, but I'm starting to feel that he's on everything. He's good value, though, and knows how to work an audience. Here, he fills in between comparatively unknown stand-ups, with the exception of Mark Watson, with whom Radio 4 listeners might be familiar. It's a good show - the first is from Edinburgh; I particularly liked droll Canadian Stewart Francis and his relentless one-liners, and the laconic Watson. But the cheerfully exhausting Rhod Gilbert probably takes the prize with a daft story about a flight to Dublin: "I was going abroad, I'm Welsh, I bought shorts..."