Vic Reeves

Comedy review: 25 Years Of Reeves And Mortimer

Well, they just wouldn't let it lie. Having spent the first 15 years of the 21st century away from the live arena, and with a series of small screen setbacks under their belts (the canning of Shooting Stars, the ditching of House Of Fools and the online catastrophe that was their ill-titled Afternoon Delights), Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer chose a relatively safe set for their 25th anniversary tour.

Vic and Bob: return of the very peculiaur pair

Now that Bob Mortimer has recovered from his recent heart surgery, he can join partner Vic Reeves for their 25th anniversary tour. Expect a homely British take on the absurd.

Bob Mortimer announces he's fit to return to tour

Bob Mortimer underwent triple heart bypass in October, cancelling first leg of tour with Vic Reeves - Bob says he can resume second leg of tour.

Vic Reeves wants to star in Coronation Street

Imagine comedian Vic Reeves walking the Weatherfield cobbles. Well it could happen if he gets his own way.

Vic vows Bob "will return bigger, faster, stronger"

The 56-year-old Shooting Stars comic was due to start touring with partner Vic Reeves next month to mark their 25th anniversary as a double act.

The charm didn't really endure into the second series of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's sitcom (which was recently cancelled by the Beeb) but this - the first episode of the first series - is a fine reminder of their absurdist comic strengths. Bob is dismayed that his oddball lodger, Vic, is cramping his style. It's particularly problematic tonight, as his neighbour Beef (Matt Berry) has arranged a date for Bob with a woman "charred, like a tugboat". The plan is to watch Conan the Barbarian on TV. But what has Vic done with the TV?

The channel's series re-exploring the merits of silent comedy continues with this piece starring Seann Walsh, Marek Larwood and Jocelyn Jee Esien - one of whom accidentally kills the guide dog of a blind man, played with customary gravity by Vic Reeves. Any comedy involving Reeves invariably involves the surreal use of food, and so it is that the death of the hound is caused by a prawn sandwich. The hapless trio must now convince Reeves that his dog is still alive. Non-verbal hilarity ensues.

The first in Sky Arts' Physical Comedy season, in which a host of stars both established and up-and-coming feature in a series of silent comedy shows. Among those set to appear are Johnny Vegas, Frank Skinner, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, as well as Jocelyn Jee Esien and Marek Larwood. Tonight's opener stars Kim Cattrall as Ruby, who lives in a huge ramshackle house along with a troupe of acrobats who perform dazzling physical feats. It was written by Mike Wozniak, who also co-stars.

A series that shows self-deprecating Britishness isn't solely the preserve of Grumpy Old Men repeats on Dave. VBP wheels out reliable talking heads (Vic Reeves, Nigel Havers, Stephen Mangan) to anatomise various points of British difficulty, and this week, it's social awkwardness. Air kissing. Hugs. Reflex apologies. All are fraught with difficulty and embarrassment. As for having a nice day, you shouldn't suggest that to Nigel Havers. "I'm having a very nasty day," he says. "But it's nothing to do with you."