I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue

Is bringing back I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue post-Humph a good idea? ISIHAC is my answer: the show has never held the place in my heart that it has in others'. Still, its return on Monday seemed fine enough, not particularly because of Stephen Fry, the host (Jack Dee and Rob Brydon are to step in later), but because of Victoria Wood. She is so clever with words - "Dictaphone: person on a mobile," she quipped - and so generous as a performer, arguing when she needed to, hanging back likewise. I hope she returns.

No Humph, no Samantha, but plenty of quality smut

After a decent interval following the death of Humphrey Lyttelton a year ago, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue returned with a knowing wink and a helpless giggle. It's taken three men to replace the great man, and on Monday Stephen Fry was in the Humph seat. (He'll rotate with Rob Brydon and Jack Dee, though I'd like to have seen Bill Bailey given a shot, too.)

There was a fear that reconvening without the show's spiritual leader might be like The Beatles re-forming after John Lennon died. But though Fry was berated in some quarters after his debut, the essence of the complaints was that he's not Lyttelton. He probably can't play the trumpet, either.

The Lyttelton lacuna apart, it was business as usual, with the innuendo quotient maintained at its traditionally ferocious level. The lovely Samantha has been given a rest (for newcomers, she's the non-existent scorer) in favour of "the rippling Sven", who's had the builders round: "Whenever they ask for cheese and chutney, he always palms them off with relish."

Radio Head: I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue

"They must have had two choices," I thought, for the first half. "They could either rip the whole thing up and start again. Or do the whole thing as an homage to the way it was ... "

Radio review: I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue

A radio institution returned last night minus a key ingredient: I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (Radio 4) is now Humph-less. It was an interesting listen, working out how much of the show can still flourish with new, rotating hosts - Stephen Fry last night; Rob Brydon and Jack Dee to follow - and how much is lost. The good news is that the show is as funny as ever, and the pointless, unscored rounds remain very ticklish indeed. What's gone, inevitably, is a rich layer of impish spirit.

Stephen Fry, the first of Clue's replacement chairmen is, without doubt and in other places, a very funny, clever, witty, charming, versatile man. The problem here is that he shows it by performing every line. Where Lyttelton made them seem as if they had just entered his head, Fry sounds as if each one has been the subject of lengthy study.

The script's rudery, therefore, no longer comes as a surprise. It's overt, intended, inescapable. Victoria Wood, last night's guest panellist, has said she found doing the show "oddly relaxing". Maybe that's why she hardly shone. Or maybe the show is just in transition.

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue Review

Lyttelton's great conceit was to behave as if he held the show, its contestants and, indeed, Mrs Trellis, in utter contempt, a trick that the benign Fry will never be able to pull off. I cannot wait to hear Jack Dee have a go.

After two weeks of trailers few can be unaware of the return of the "antidote to panel games" with Stephen Fry in the chair. Recorded at Her Majesty's Theatre weeks ago, the audience roars approval for Fry's saucy delivery of Iain Pattinson's salty script. Sven replaces Samantha as the invisible scorer, offering more chances to spot the innuendo. Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor and guest panellist Victoria Wood make merry with the customary multitude of entendres, double and single Colin Sell, as ever, is at the piano.

After the sad passing of our beloved Humph, ISIHAC could have quietly shuffled off into the sunset, but it returns with guest host (and former panel member) Stephen Fry. Regulars Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined by new girl Victoria Wood, who turned down the chance to appear on the show 19 years ago, but hopefully will make many more appearances in future.

The return of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue

After a long and understandable break, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue returns to Radio 4 at 6.30pm on Monday 15th June. Use the player above to listen to the opening of this historic episode.