Richard Curtis

About Time review

Richard Curtis' time travelling romantic dramedy is an enjoyable, if familiar, return to form.

"You can get away with a low percentage of excellence and still be thought of as excellent," says Richard Curtis of the TV sketch show. As an example, he cites Not the Nine O'Clock News, a typical episode of which he remembers as being "17 dodgy minutes and maybe ten good minutes".

It's a nice shot of acid in what is otherwise a largely reverential look at the genre that takes in all the old favourites - the "class sketch" from The Frost Report, "Fork Handles" from The Two Ronnies, even Gerald the gorilla from the aforementioned NTNOCN. It's only really in the final 15 minutes that we get to explore the issue of why there's been a dearth of such comedies since the end of Little Britain and The Catherine Tate Show. It seems it's all down to expense and an audience's preference for stand-up over snappy, three-minute vignettes.

When the first Comic Relief single rocked your world

In 1985, Comic Relief was born. The beautiful, bouncing child of Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry, it came into the world kicking and screaming... and in 1988, it started wearing a red nose. And between these two events - the launch of the charity and its first Red Nose Day in February 1988 - came the release of the very first Comic Relief single, in 1986.

Richard Curtis on Christmases past

Christmas has always been a time of joy for Richard Curtis - even when unexpected guests meant there were fewer presents for him.

Hooray! - I discovered Rowan Atkinson's only ever radio series on 4 Extra. Originally broadcast in 1979, on Radio 3, The Atkinson People is a series of spoof interviews, written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis, with Atkinson playing all the parts. First up, Sir Corin Basin, actor, raconteur and crashing bore. There's no point in me retelling the jokes, as it's Atkinson's delivery - his vowels twanging and pinging, his intonation on a bungee jump - that really makes them funny. Just listen, it's a joy. Someone crack open the advocaat.

Here's something for all us anoraks, the first, indeed the only radio comedy by Rowan Atkinson, a 1979 four-part series, co-written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis (later to write Four Weddings and a Funeral and other big screen hits), produced by Griff Rhys-Jones (before he became a star comedian himself) and featuring Howard Goodall, now composer in residence and presenter on Classic FM. Each show is a pretend interview with a great man; tonight esteemed actor and almighty bore Sir Corin Basin.

The second of Richard Curtis's romcoms, following Four Weddings, about bumbling good eggs and frightfully pretty girls. Hugh Grant plays a bookseller who pulls a film star (Julia Roberts) - it's amusing, in particular when Grant's character ineptly poses as a journalist from Horse & Hound at a press junket for a sci-fi movie.

Ben Elton: The stand-up comedy scene is very vibrant

Ben Elton talks to Metro about the success of We Will Rock You, what he learned from Richard Curtis and his forthcoming Scope charity gig.

Love Actually 2 would be green-lit if Curits writes it

The president of Universal Pictures has urged British director/writer Richard Curtis to come up with a follow-up to hit 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually.

The Decoy Bride - review

Kelly Macdonald gives an attractive performance in a cheerfully absurd comedy-farce that pokes fun at the Richard Curtis romcom.