Tim Key

This week's new live comedy

Pappy's, Tim Key and Stonewall Comedy Gala.

Al Murray, Tim Key and lots of rum

Producer Julia McKenzie gives us a behind the scenes look at recording Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section: Edinburgh Special - listen to the programme on Sunday at 19.15.

Sam Fletcher - illustrations of Edinburgh no2

Free Fringer, former Tim Key sidekick and comic-magician-musician-illustrator, Sam Fletcher, (12.30pm Aug 4-25, Bannerman's), tells us about his first week of his first solo Fringe.

The best of comedy at the 2012 Fringe

Dylan Moran, Tim Key, Russell Kane, Jimmy Carr amongst big names set to perform.

2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Comedy highlights

Tim Key, Andrew Doyle, Andrew Maxwell, Dylan Moran and more.

UK comedians lead the way at Melbourne festival

Tim Key, Dave Gorman and Paul Foot shortlisted for Australian international comedy festival's top award.

I first noticed Tim Key on Charlie Brooker's Newswipe TV series on BBC Four, where he did readings of his "topical poetry" to camera. These were short, pointedly unpoetic monologues about the issues of the day, delivered with a comic poise that brought to mind the late Tommy Cooper. He now has his own radio show, Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme (Radio 4, Wednesday), in which he reads more of his poems and argues with his long-suffering assistant, Lord. By rights, it shouldn't be very funny; but it is.

Wednesday's programme was themed around chance, which had prompted Key to write six numbered poems. His plan was to roll a die and perform the poems in the order thus dictated, but the number four kept appearing. "Have you touched the dice with a magnet?" he asked Lord, who protested that Key had totally failed to understand the nature of probability. Key decided to read poem number three instead, provocatively titled The Wrong Number That Led to a Marriage ("He had woken her up/ but she had been charmed by his blustering apologies and his flattery/ after an hour or so, the pauses became longer, and more comfortable"). By this time I was spluttering into my tea and resolving to tune into this Wednesday's instalment, which tackles the theme of superstition.

My Heroes and heroines: Tim Key

Comic poet Tim Key talks about some of his personal heroes including Mike Leigh, Harold Lloyd and Andy Murray.

Round-up of 2011: Comedy

Tim Key, Tommy Tiernan, Stephen Merchant, Luke Wright and Jerry Sadowitz make our laugh-list.

Programmes that pull together a bunch of festival turns are often ragged and random - not this one. As your compere Arthur Smith explains at the top of the show, all the acts have at least a modicum of BBC4 sensibility about them. Alex Horne and his, um, Horne Section offer silly but dazzling musical comedy, while Tim Key does something similarly clever and stupid with his poems. David O'Doherty has a Bontempi organ and a unique way with words, while Nina Conti offers an ingenious and brilliantly improvised variation on her familiar ventriloquist routine.