Stephen Fry

One of tonight's quite interesting facts is that all the guest celebs in Stephen Fry's quizzing kaleidoscope are female, with Radio 4 presenter Susan Calman, TV perennial Liza Tarbuck and actor/comedian/antiques buff Sandi Toksvig ready to subject themselves to a surreal grilling. Will regular Alan Davies be able to keep his end up as the only male on the receiving end of tonight's posers? Of course he will, with bells on.

Radio Times review

Stephen Fry and Daniel Rigby return for a new series of the gay equine epistolary romance, set in the Napoleonic War. Fry's hearty voice is perfect for the French stallion Marengo, while Rigby is the more camp, hysteria-prone English steed Copenhagen.

Introduced by Tamsin Greig, this week's letters include the famous words of Abba "at Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender" spoken with knowing deadpan by Daniel Rigby, who shot to fame when he beat both Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch for the 2011 best actor Bafta for his role as Eric Morecambe in the BBC drama Eric and Ernie, but is now playing the geeky Simon in the BT advertisements!

This Is Jinsy is one of those weird British comedies, like The League of Gentleman and The Mighty Boosh, whereupon a first viewing, it seems inaccessibly strange but, given time, you come to embrace its eccentricities.

It's a learning experience. Here, Stephen Fry joined the cast as a coiffured professor obsessed with fine hair, whose arrival bagan a string of events that culminate in an ancient wig coming to life and terrorising the residents. Of course.

There's a lot to be said for unadulterated, often creepy silliness. Jinsy's best moments are its tiny asides: someone holding a newspaper with the headline "COW DIES"; a TV show (hosted by Greg Davies in drag) called Punishment Roundup; something named The Singing Obituaries. It's very silly, but very worth it.

A welcome return of the surreal comedy set on the fictional island of Jinsy. In the opener of this double bill, Arbiter Maven (Justin Chubb) is due for his Follication Ceremony, but his vanity gets the better of him as he uses a hair potion whose growth properties rage out of control. Stephen Fry guests as Dr Bevelspepp, relishing the rich dialogue, full of "herbal unguents" and suchlike. In the second, in which the island's bookkeeping is thrown into crisis by a racism scandal, Ben Miller appears as both the chief accountant and his daughter.

Featuring a talent competition judged by a dog, a truly hair-raising chase sequence and guest turns from Stephen Fry as a luxuriantly locked hair doctor and Ben Miller as a busty accountant's daughter (and her dad), life in Jinsy is as wonderfully bizarre as it was first time around. So it's a warm welcome back for Justin Chubb and Chris Bran's inspired mix of crackers characters, singing obituaries and catchy tunes. Top of the Jinsy Hit Parade in this opening double bill are the skiffle-tastic Was It You? and torch song Vegetable Tricks - and you also get to see what Greg Davies looks like in a skirt, in case you'd been wondering.

Stand by your tesselators for series two of the surreal sitcom. Fans of its lunatic thatch of The Wicker Man and Mighty Boosh will be pleased to know its formula is unchanged: crazy tale interspersed with beautifully crafted diversions.

To the uninitiated, This Is Jinsy is set on a fictional island, isolated in behaviour, religion and technology from the rest of the world. Parking meter-style tesselators spout vaguely sinister pronouncements about clothing, food or furniture, and entertainment takes the form of a talent contest presided over by a dog called Sandy.

The butt of nearly all the jokes is Arbiter Maven (Justin Chubb), a ludicrous popinjay whose disastrous follication ceremony in the first of this double bill leads to some hairy, Doctor Who-style horrors. And it's his more intelligent assistant, Sporall (Chris Bran), with his brown 70s suit and luxuriant 70s hair, who gets in most of the jibes.

This Is Jinsy may be the very definition of cult, but it's one that attracts Big Names. Stephen Fry is in the opener as a hair-museum curator, Ben Miller plays a feral accountant in the second episode; Eileen Atkins and Derek Jacobi will pop in later in the run.

Tracee Henge's Unwinese weather forecasts are especially fine, and the mad songs are as MP3-friendly as ever.

Justin Chubb and Chris Bran interview

As series two begins, we talk to the men whose strange little creation attracts guest performances from the likes of Stephen Fry, Olivia Colman and Derek Jacobi.

Having enjoyed what Stephen Fry described as a "full life", Mel Smith died in July aged just 60. At this time of year, it's probably his Rockin' around the Christmas Tree duet that comes to mind first, but the clowning about was part of a rich career that shaped British comedy but also took in straight acting and directing, TV production and a modicum of high living.

Rowan Atkinson remembers a "wonderful sort of peace" in performing alongside him, and John Lloyd credits Smith with developing the naturalistic style that characterises modern alternative comedy. Lloyd and Atkinson are joined by Richard Curtis and, of course, his sketch partner Griff Rhys Jones to commemorate Mel Smith's contribution to both comedy and life in general. Home video and lots of classic sketches (which really do stand the test of time) tell the story of a beloved comic personality.

Quizmaster Stephen Fry, resplendent in a deep red, Noël Coward-ish dressing gown, hosts a sparkly QI Christmas special with guests, Mrs Brown's alter ego Brendan O'Carroll, Phill Jupitus, Jo Brand and Alan Davies. It's the Feast of Stephen, of course, and Fry introduces a young lady who's invented what she describes as an "unknitting machine" which is operated behind the scenes in the studio by her brother, much to everyone's ribald delight.

Fry, a man who loves gadgets, is thrilled as the machine unravels Alan Davies's festive scarf. Meanwhile, the guests wonder what presents we can expect from the Queen, and why Father Christmas is no longer on a Rich List.

Stephen Fry and Jennifer Saunders at 2014 Hay Festival

Entertainment heavyweights Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Fry and Jennifer Saunders are among the headline acts for the 2014 Hay Festival in Powys.