Stephen Fry

Radio Times review

Nothing that tonight's four panellists come up with can quite beat an aside from Stephen Fry early on where he quotes the late Christopher Hitchens to the effect that "The four most overrated things in life are lobster, champagne, anal sex and picnics."

But along the way, we get other diversions: the mating rituals of the tent cobweb spider sound like they should have been included in an episode of Life Story: the male is 100 times smaller than the female and uses two "penis legs" to mate, Fry tells us.

The theme of all this is L for love, including the wonderful-sounding Puritan tradition of "bundling" betrothed couples. It also takes us from Napoleon's mistresses to Psycho to nanny goats, which are more aptly named than you would think.

Radio Times review

Stephen Fry is absolutely lethal tonight. Partly because that's the theme of this week's show, but also because he's on fire comedically. After a lengthy dissertation about a particular marsupial's energetic but ultimately deadly sex life, he solemnly wags his finger and says, "Russell Brand take note."

Sandi Toksvig, Jason Manford and Bill Bailey join Alan Davies to try to answer questions about laptop fatalities, the perils of sugar-free confectionery, unusual duelling weapons and the possibility of taking a bullet for someone. They also learn a nifty method of extracting a cork that's dropped down inside a glass bottle using a plastic bag. How handy.

Alan Davies interview

Some might know him from the telly as Stephen Fry's sidekick on QI, some as the lovable magician-cum-detective Jonathan Creek, but Alan Davies is also a dab hand at stand-up and he's rolling through town with his new show. Hazel Ward gave him a bell...

Why has Stephen Fry left Twitter?

Yesterday the actor announced that he was temporarily retiring from the social network because it was "unsafe" for him to tweet.

Radio Times review

After the summer reunion rekindled interest in all things Pythonic, Gold has now enticed celebs into choosing their favourite sketches for a nightly five-part series. Tonight, Tracey Ullman plumps for the Montys in drag rolling about in mud on a hillside (Batley Townswomen's Guild Presents the Battle of Pearl Harbor), while Noel Fielding celebrates the genius of one joke repeated, in The Kilimanjaro Expedition.

Jim Carrey, meanwhile, prostrates himself before the Pythons, or as he calls them the "Super Justice League of comedy", and recalls the effect on him of Ernest Scribbler: Michael Palin's man who laughs himself to death. You'll see why immediately: Palin's performance is uncannily Carreyesque.

Tomorrow night, wordsmith Stephen Fry selects Argument Clinic (oh yes he does) and there's more cross-dressing: Hell's Grannies, chosen by Eddie Izzard.

In which celebrities discuss their most treasured moments in all of Python history. Jim Carrey explains his unwavering respect for the Ernest Scribbler "funniest joke in the world" sketch, while for Mike Myers it's the emerging use of "caméra-stylo" in the Alan Whicker-lampooning Whicker's Island. Elsewhere, Stephen Fry gushes on the most chucklesome, whip-smart "argument clinic", Jessica Hynes shows her adoration for Cleese's "fish licence" skit and Eddie Izzard declares a deep love of "hell's grannies". Continues all week.

Radio Times review

Those who were offended by the childish "poo and willies" humour of a recent QI won't be thrilled to hear mention of male and female genitalia, pubic hair and prostitution in tonight's edition. But not to tune in would mean missing some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, including Alan Davies wearing antique glasses for those with poor peripheral vision. You'd also miss Stephen Fry apoplectic with embarrassment at having accidentally described Jo Brand as an ignorant pig. And you wouldn't know how impossible it is to twirl your right foot clockwise while trying to draw a six in the air with your right hand. Bet you're trying to do that right now.

Stephen Fry to appear at Bristol's Slapstick Festival

Stephen Fry is the latest celebrity name to sign up to Bristol's Slapstick Festival.

Radio Times review

Sue Perkins appears to be taking this edition incredibly seriously, frowning as she unpicks the brainteasers and listening intently to Stephen Fry's elucidations as if she was the classroom swot thirsty for every drop of knowledge. That is until he poses the question how did Chicago get screwed up, to which she flippantly replies: "They put Catherine Zeta-Jones in it."

The lavatorial round may send you running towards the smallest room because the explanation is so nauseating even the panellists shriek in horror. But stick around for the quantum levitation demonstration. It's childishly and joyously brilliant. Josh Widdicombe's right when he says: "That would be the best Christmas present in the world!"

Radio Times review

Considering he's possibly the world's most charming man, Stephen Fry is never too far away from controversy. The publication of the third volume of his memoirs, More Fool Me, was accompanied by a racket as some readers and commentators demanded he be retrospectively prosecuted for his acknowledged cocaine use in the 1980s.

But Fry was determined to tell what he's described as the "ugly truth" about his drug-taking past that even saw him snorting cocaine during a reception at Buckingham Palace. "I was an imbecile, an idiot, I got caught up in a ridiculous dependency," he told Huw Edwards recently.

Another man who's had his own monumental battles with addiction, Robert Downey Jr, joins Fry and Oscar-winning Robert Duvall on the Norton sofa.