Rob Rouse

What Matters to Me: Rob Rouse, comedian

Who would attend your fantasy dinner party and what would you eat? I would invite the judges from Great British Menu, who seem to whinge about everything put before them.

Comedy preview: Rob Rouse: Life Sentences at The Stand

Today, Rob Rouse is firmly established as one of the stand-up circuit's favourite comedians. Casting his mind back to that breakthrough moment he says, "It meant I could give up my day job. I was temping in the City of London as a caretaker and doing open spots at night."

Rob Rouse discusses his comedy heroes

Tommy Cooper, Vic Reeves, Bill Hicks and Bill Burr are among the English comic's inspirations.

Rob Rouse talks brewing, babies and comedy filth

With a new daughter and a new show Life Sentences, we talk to Rob Rouse about beer, brewing, and existential crisis which comes with fatherhood.

Review: Rob Rouse: Life Sentences - Newcastle Stand

Like many comedians in their 30s, Life Sentences is influenced by the birth of a child. In this case, Rouse's second, with his first offspring already serving his comedy apprenticeship by entertaining the school assembly with his bum.

Interview: Rob Rouse

After becoming a father for the second time Rob Rouse couldn't be more content with family life.

The ubiquitous Griff Rhys Jones's comedy panel series reaches its final episode tonight. Captains Marcus Brigstocke and Charlie Baker are joined by journalist Grace Dent and comedian Rob Rouse. As ever, their knowledge of recent history - and ready wit - are tested via a bewilderingly broad range of archive footage.

Paddy McGuinness's nifty Riverdance footwork makes a lively opener to this new panel show, based on international news clips and with comedians Rhys Darby and Rufus Hound as team captains. But just as Paddy is game enough to show off his skills at Irish dancing, he's game enough to work with some pretty shoddy material.

The clips are on the geriatric side (there's a Star Wars-themed wedding from 2009) and some of the gags they throw up from guests Janice Dickinson, Louis Walsh, Jason Byrne and Rob Rouse are more mean than clever. Thank the casting department, then, for the presence of Rufus Hound, who kindly goes along with some of the soggier gags before interjecting with a proper one of his own. Saturday nights are a tough nut to crack, but Mad Mad World needs some sharper implements.

Rob Rouse in curry cook off at Leicester Festival

Rob Rouse and Shirley & Shirley are set to cook off at the Leicester Comedy Festival.

While most of the comedy world is currently camping out in Edinburgh (Radio 4 is recording a number of shows up at the festival), Russell Kane's Whistle Stop Tour appeared at first to offer something different from seaside resorts across the UK.

The only problem was that there wasn't enough material about the location chosen (on this occasion Blackpool) to make the listening experience anything more than another night down the local comedy club. It was not that Kane and the other comics - Chris Ramsey, Gary Delaney, Justin Moorhouse and the particularly funny Rob Rouse - did not make an entertaining combination, but this was a dull, run-of-the-mill format. Despite Kane travelling on the Big One rollercoaster at the Pleasure Beach and hearing snippets about Punch and Judy and the resort's early history, the majority of the programme could have been recorded anywhere.
Surely to conjure up something of Blackpool's distinctive atmosphere would not have been difficult. A bit of effort, a stroll down the seafront and a chat with some of the tourists or performers working at the resort would have been preferable to the slightly patronising remarks from Kane such as, "I didn't know stuff like this existed!" What a missed opportunity.