Sarah Millican

The Jonathan Ross Show received record ratings on Saturday (16th November 2013) with 4.6 million and a peak of 4.9 million tuning in to watch One Direction, Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, Sarah Millican and Eminem. This was Jonathan's highest rating since he signed with ITV back in 2011.

One Direction are nothing if not hard-working. Zayn, Harry, Liam, Louis and Niall have just returned from Take Me Home, their epic world tour. Next week they'll release a new album and star in 1D Day, a seven-hour live stream incorporating contributions from fans. The world will soon have its fill, if that's possible, but the lads might need a sit down: Jonathan Ross is just the host to provide it.

They'll have to scooch up a bit for Radio Times columnist Sarah Millican, though. Not only is she in the middle of her own tour (called Home Bird, so they've got something in common), but there's always the hope that she'll settle in properly, take over from Jonathan and start asking the questions. The rude ones.

Comedy review: Sarah Millican

So much more vibrant than her BBC TV show conveys, Sarah Millican's life experience still weighs heavily on her work, particularly her divorce and her grasp of the working week and our need to seek comfort away from it.

Review - Sarah Millican: Home Bird, Hammersmith Apollo

Sarah Millican has a natural, barbed wit and a penchant for smut but her act has become slightly repetitive, says Dominic Cavendish.

Review: Sarah Millican, Hammersmith Apollo

Potty time as divorcee sets up home in the toilet.

For an episode entitled Keeps, Stephen Fry introduces a one-off round called "Keep Still or Scarper", turning on whether it's safer to run away or freeze when confronted with certain wild animals. His demonstration of how to proceed if you bump into a pack of wolves (roaring like an angry Victorian gentleman, basically) makes you long to see the confrontation for real.

Elsewhere, there are insights into whether ants can hold their drink, the smile of a bowhead whale and a dispute between Fry and Bill Bailey about Welsh accents. Also adding to the fun - Sarah Millican and Jason Manford.

Sarah Millican: My family values

The comedian talks about getting her sense of humour from both parents and the therapeutic effect of making jokes about her divorce.

Review: Sarah Millican: Home Bird

Her shtick is to be like the gossipy best friend, so makes no secret of her divorce and shares vignettes from her seven-year relationship, whether it's the silly jokes they share or an anecdote about a trip to Warwick Castle, not the most heavily exploited of comedy topics, but one which shows her ability to hold a longer narrative.

It's no longer surprising that what comes out of Sarah Millican's mouth can be more than a bit cheeky, but it's unsettling to hear her abandoning the Shields vowels for a low, posh accent. It's all in an evening's work, of course, and in honour of guest Gabriella Ellis, ex of Made in Chelsea. Gabs is both posh and game, but with quickfire slots it's the guests who know their stuff who answer back best.

As part of Sarah's forensic investigation of money-saving telly tips, Martin Lewis is asked whether any of the shampoo in his house is not nicked from a hotel, while Dan Cruickshank must defend the entire scope and nature of his subject, including oral history.

Regardless of the fact that the TV schedules are already rammed with the damned things, all sharing near-identical formats, television continues to spew out comedy panel shows. Channel 4's Was It Something I Said? is the latest manifestation of a tedious trend.

The basic premise, upon which the contestants are invited to riff, is the world of quotes and quotations. A world very familiar to anyone who has listened to an edition of BBC Radio 4's Quote... Unquote during its 49 series' residency.

But originality clearly isn't high on Was It Something I Said?'s priorities. Take a look at the line-up - David Mitchell in the chair, Richard Ayoade and Micky Flanagan as team captains, and Charlie Higson and Jimmy Carr as guests.

Individually, I like them all. Collectively, as part of a comedy panel show, their terrible familiarity provokes in me a level of screaming boredom that is borderline hysterical.

Even the fine actor David Harewood, roped in as guest 'reader', has been spotted slumming it elsewhere in the BBC's Would I Lie to You?. Presumably, Harewood's ambition was atomised at the end of Homeland's second series, along with his character.

But possibly the most predictable and depressing aspect of the show was its total absence of women. Whether this was the deliberate product of an anti-feminist agenda, or simply down to the fact that Sarah Millican wasn't available, we can only guess.