Tony Blackburn (I)

Comedy review: An Audience with The Goodies

Once they found their rapport we were reminded what complementary talents they were.

Tony Blackburn guest stars in Dead Boss

Tony Blackburn is set for some romance as he guest stars in tonight's comedy murder mystery Dead Boss.

Sometimes it can seem as if standup comedians are everywhere. Clustered on panel shows, chat shows, sitcoms; hosting clips programmes, commenting on the news, making you chicken pie when you get home at night...

That's just me (I'm married to a standup), and that's a bad joke. Not quite as bad as some we heard on Stand Up For Comic Relief, but close.

Last week, Radio 4 took us through the now familiar process of established comedians mentoring novices for charidee (you phone in to vote for the best, and the money goes to Comic Relief). Thus, Dev from Radio 1 was tutored by Chris Ramsey, Radio 2's Tony Blackburn got Julian Clary, Tom Service (Radio 3) by Sandi Toksvig, Jenni Murray (Radio 4) by Mark Steel, Tony Livesey (5Live) worked with Justin Moorhouse and Shaun Keaveny from 6Music was paired with Miles Jupp. (If there was ever a sign that the BBC are now fully supportive of 6Music, Shaun doing Comic Relief is it.)

Before we heard the routines, in the "funny" 6.30pm slot on Wednesday, Radio 4 offered us two half-hour puff pieces on Monday and Tuesday, where the newbies expressed their fear and competitiveness and their mentors cracked funnies. Tony Blackburn was the coolest, his shtick so tough that Clary's advice could only slide off it like an egg chucked at a tank. Blackburn refused to meet Clary more than once, and was as corny as can be, his light-ent persona carrying him through hoary gags such as getting the whole audience to look under their seats for a nonexistent prize. Tony Livesey was cheesy too, in ye old working men's club manner: terrible jokes, delivered with a wink and some panache. Shaun Keaveny was likable, as were Jenni Murray and Tom Service. But best by far was Dev, who told a truthful, funny, well-constructed story about asking a girl out complete with call-backs to earlier jokes. He should win.

As an aside, much as Comic Relief is an admirable institution, it should be held at least partly responsible for all these standups and their hijacking of mainstream culture. Funny is God, these days. (And God, though good with a one-liner, wasn't actually much of a giggle.) Oh, I'm so sick of listening to people say stuff that sounds as though it's a punch-line, but isn't actually, you know, funny. Hey ho. Adam and Joe will be back on 6Music next month. They really do make me laugh.

Jane Asher, Cherie Lunghi and, this week, Tessa Wyatt - the woman who once broke Tony Blackburn's heart. Well, we can see what Roy and Tom's type is when it comes to women: middle-class, actressy types with lovely vowels and no interest in either Roy or Tom.

Having finally accepted that they don't stand a chance with their neighbour Sally, this week the pair decide to break their addiction to her by meeting other women.

As they both end up on the same date with the same woman, the comedy is as corny and predictable as ever, but it's carried along by Roger Lloyd Pack and Clive Swift's considerable boyish charm.

Radio 2 Comedy Greats tackled Benny Hill. Comedian Ben Miller talked up Hill's claims to be a "comedy innovator and TV pioneer" and promised, "if you think you know the Benny Hill story, it's time to think again". This sounded intriguing but the show did little to back up these assertions. There were plenty of clips of Hill, sounding very dated and unfunny ("There's the wife, feeding the pigs. She's the one with the hat on") with people like Tony Blackburn insisting, "it's just seaside-postcard fun, really . . . nothing wrong with that". As comedy tastes changed and his ratings fell, Hill's TV show was cancelled. "Benny never really became the comedy pariah that some have painted him as," Miller said. It felt like faint praise.

This series of the madcap quiz show may not have struck the same irreverent chords as it did in its Nineties heyday, but it's been entertaining all the same. Concluding the current run, this episode sees The Mighty Boosh's Noel Fielding, DJ Tony Blackburn and presenter Zoe Salmon join team captains Jack Dee and Ulrika Jonsson and regular guest Angelos Epithemiou - the curmudgeonly alter-ego of comedian Dan Skinner - for more surreal tomfoolery.