Steve Bennett (II)

Comedy gigs of the year 2015

Featuring Rob Delaney, Tommy Tiernan, Frankie Boyle, Daniel Kitson, Sam Simmons, Bill Bailey, Stewart Lee, Weird Al Yankovic, Richard Gadd and Spencer Jones.

Walliams And Friend review

Overall the show is an effective one-off that will surely lead to David Walliams being paired up with more friends in the future.

Review: We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story

Jewel in the crown is John Sessions, so unrecognisable as Arthur Lowe you'd think they'd somehow defrosted the Captain Mainwaring star from suspended animation.

Review - Lewis Schaffer: You Are Beautiful

The jokes don't always land; sometimes because he seems too sincere for them to be signposted gags. And the converse is also true, he gets laughs from apparently straight lines because we don't trust that he's being honest. It remains a peculiar dynamic, and one he seems to enjoy the ambiguity of. And if you're prepared to go with that oddness, you will too.

Peep Show final episode review

'Are we going to be all right?' Jez asks in the final scene. Probably not.

MUFF review

To attempt to explain more would be counter-productive; just know that this is a wild, outrageous, rock-and-roll style of comedy, which ain't always pretty but which loves to revel in its excesses.

Hunderby returns

Sky have apparently not yet made a decision on whether Hunderby should return for another full series, but Dorothy's surely got enough evil in her to go around.

The only real dud of the dozen, Libby Northedge and Nina Smith embraced the dark spirit of David Lynch, though aren't as funny. They seem very pleased with their weirdness, a self-consciousness at odds with other surreal acts who tend to have playful fun with the lack of boundaries. Instead, this seems to be uncomfortable for its own sake. The pair, who have an aggressive, dysfunctional relationship, are charged with getting a church ready for the Christmas Eve service, but mess it up.

A change of tone here, for a short that shelves the cynicism and actually celebrates the spirit of Christmas. Nish Kumar plays an actor who became insufferable last Christmas when he landed the part in a Hollywood film, alienating his friends (Ed Gamble, Tom Neenan and Massive Dad Tessa Coates) at their annual get-together. Twelve months later and he's been kicked off the film - revealed in a bruising meeting with his agent, played by Aisling Bea - and wonders if he can face them again. The pay-off, courtesy of Santa David Trent, might a little corny, but that' Christmas for you...

This is the stand-out of the lot, a heart-warming story based on a simple premise, some great gags, and the warmth of his performance. After a grinch steals Christmas - or, more accurately, the car containing all the presents and accoutrements for the big day - Spencer Jones stays up all night improvising gifts from what he could scavenge from the hardware shop at midnight. His character is basically 'best Dad ever', inventive, playful and prepared to do anything for his family - an optimism that rubs up against his sourpuss sister-in-law. A perfect combination of laugh-out-loud moments, including the final punchline, and a genuine feelgood spirit. More please!