Crackanory

Radio Times review

The adult storybook series continues a strong season with this second tranche of tales. Ben Miller is up first, reading Alexander Kirk's Man's Best Friend, a decidedly weird yarn about a Victorian gent (hilariously acted out by the always brilliant Kevin Eldon) who transplants the brain of his much-loved dog into the body of a beautiful woman.

Then comes Sue Perkins doing Melissa Bubnic's Return to Sender, a modern tale of a shophaholic called Daisy who meets a kindred spirit - but with disastrous results.

These stories are oddly moral as well as decidedly wacky, and fans will not be disappointed. There is also a Bake Off line inserted into Perkins's story that ices this particular cake very nicely indeed.

Sue Perkins adds Bake Off joke in Crackanory

Perkins gives a spirited reading of Melissa Bubnic's Return to Sender - a modern story of shopaholic Daisy who meets a kindred spirit called Zara but with disastrous results. But there is also a line neatly inserted into the tale about The Great British Bake Off that ices this particular cake very nicely indeed.

Crackanory: The Weatherman, TV review

The gleeful menace in his delivery made this a fitting epitaph.

Rik Mayall's last TV appearance draws 400,000

Nearly 400,000 viewers watched the late Rik Mayall's last TV appearance on Dave's storytelling show Crackanory.

The storytelling show's second series begins with Vic Reeves and the late Rik Mayall as resident raconteurs. Reeves tells a tale about a cleaning lady who finds herself aboard a mission to Mars, while Mayall's story concerns a local weatherman who is able to control the elements. With his madcap delivery never flagging, Mayall injects every line with what seems - poignantly - like an endless reserve of triumphant comic timing: his posthumous appearance a tribute to his own incomparable presence.

Radio Times review

A welcome return for the adult (and we mean adult) storybook series, but here laced with a touch of sadness.The late Rik Mayall shares the billing with Vic Reeves in this opener, with Mayall telling a wonderful story about a weatherman whose predictions actually come true and who finds himself tempted to use his power to immoral ends...

Storytelling is a form Mayall clearly loves, and he gives it everything in what must have been one of his last ever jobs. It's intense, focused and a little bit naughty and reminds us of what we're now sadly missing. Reeves's story is pretty good too - a slightly madder but no less amusing yarn about a cleaner from the future who finds herself on a mission to Mars.

Crackanory, Dave, review: 'fantastically vigorous'

Rik Mayall's final on-screen performance was full of life.

Crackanory preview

When Crackanory first arrived on Dave last November, many weren't sure whether a show where well-known faces read bedtime stories to adults would work. Luckily it did and this week sees the series return with an even better line-up.

Rik Mayall: his final interview

In his last interview, Rik Mayall spoke about his anarchic, final TV appearance.

Crackanory: review

Iconic TV show returns for new series featuring Vic Reeves and the late Rik Mayall at his best.