Robert Duncan (I)

Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening review

There's more to Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening than simple nostalgia that should offer an appeal beyond the TV show's existing fan base.

Inside the wild creation of Drop The Dead Donkey

Ahead of a new stage revival, the creators and cast of Channel 4's classic 90s newsroom sitcom remember close encounters with future Bond stars, writing episodes at the last minute and the meaning between that mysterious title.

Full cast announced for Fisherman's Friends: The Musical

The full cast and creative team has been unveiled for the upcoming tour of Fisherman's Friends: The Musical, based on the tunes of the much-loved group and the 2019 film of the same name.

Review: Julia Masli and The Duncan Brothers present Logs

I can't recommend LOGS enough. If the rumours are true, this week is the last chance you'll get to see these three inspired idiots dressed in bits of bark.

How Drop The Dead Donkey broke the news - and its cast

The comedy almost known as Dead Belgians Don't Count was a unique mix of office humour and topical jokes. But staying current came at a cost.

Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin's long-running Channel 4 comedy dwelt on the staff of GlobeLink News, constantly fending off the attentions of Gus Hedges (Robert Duncan), hatchet man for their (unseen) new owner, Sir Roysten Merchant.

Hedges, a management droid speaking exclusively in jargon, is determined to make GlobeLink more sensationalist and tabloid but embattled editor George Dent (Jeff Rawle) sticks to his guns. Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson brought a plausibly worn quality to their hack characters.

A brilliant satire on the commercialisation of news in the era of Rupert Murdoch and Robert Maxwell, Drop the Dead Donkey must surely have been an inspiration behind W1A (2014-) in its targeting of mind-boggling managerial interference.

Andy Hamilton's glorious radio comedy returns for a new series. It may be bad luck for Hamilton's bank account that it's unlikely to transfer to TV (too expensive, too topical, too funny) but it's good news for listeners who discover tonight how many bankers are now in Hell, what to do with a dog that's suddenly turned up there and why God appears to be on a gap year. Hamilton, as ever, plays Satan, attended by lesser devils Scumspawn and Thomas (Robert Duncan and Jimmy Mulville). Annette Crosbie plays Satan's crisply academic biographer.

The sitcom Old Harry's Game is back for a new series. Having finally rid themselves of the Professor, who used to make the afterlife unbearable with his questions and his moralising, Satan (Andy Hamilton) and his sidekick Scumspawn (Robert Duncan) find themselves facing a new challenge. There is so much sin in the world, and so much slaughter, that hell is overflowing with the freshly damned. Great fun, despite the deafeningly over-amplified laughter track.