Stand Up For Comic Relief

Stand Up For Comic Relief sees six presenters from across the BBC's national radio stations trying out stand-up comedy for the first time as part of the BBC's Comic Relief coverage.

"The fearless sextet will compete in a test of wit, bravery and sheer silliness by trying their hand at stand-up comedy, in front of a live audience, in order to win the votes of the listeners at home and most importantly raise lots of money for Comic Relief."

This year's contestants are: Dev from Radio 1, Tony Blackburn from Radio 2, Tom Service from Radio 3, Jenni Murray from Radio 4, Tony Livesey from 5 Live and Shaun Keaveny from 6 Music.

The contestents met in early February for the first time at The Comedy Store in London, where they were given a masterclass by Radio 4's Mark Thomas. Over the next two weeks each of the fledgling comics is mentored by a different professional comedian, who will help them develop and perfect a three-minute stand-up routine.

Dev is to be mentored by Chris Ramsey; Tony Blackburn by Julian Clary; Tom Service by Sandi Toksvig; Jenni Murray by Mark Steel; Tony Livesey by Justin Moorhouse; and Shaun Keaveny by Miles Jupp.

The end result of the two-week intensive comic training is a performance at The Comedy Store, the world famous London venue. Following the broadcast of this gig, listeners will be invited to vote for their favourite.

The winner will be announced simultaneously across the BBC Radio networks on Red Nose Day, Friday 18 March.