John Bishop's Britain

The likeable Liverpudlian comedian continues to explore themes by mixing stand-up with sketches and vox pops. This week's subject is family, with ex-EastEnder Natalie Cassidy joining Bishop to discuss parenthood. This show's slipped under the radar somewhat, being buried in the quiet summer schedules, but has proved watchable enough and Bishop probably deserves another shot in an improved format.

The likeable Liverpudlian comic combines stand-up, sketches and vox pops to explore the theme of work, with the ubiquitous James Corden as studio guest. It's a hotch-potch that sometimes feels like a funny man in search of a format. However, Match of the Day returns tonight, which feels like its natural bedfellow in the schedules, and Bishop is engaging enough company to keep things entertaining.

John Bishop's Britain review

The BBC appear to be on a mission to recruit middle-of-the-road stand-up comedians with a wide demographic appeal.

It's not John Bishop's fault but every time I clap eyes on this Liverpool comedian - he's a regular on Sky1's A League Of Their Own - I keep thinking it's Bez from Happy Mondays with a new brain.

So it took me a while to focus on what was going on in John Bishop's Britain (BBC1). Were the characters giving their opinions on all things love and marriage real? Or were they comedy creations?

It was a nice kind of confusion and if fast-talking 'trainee DJ' Josh from Leyton is real, it'll be five minutes before he gets his own series. Bishop acts as a Scouse social commentator, bouncing his dry wit off the clips and splicing in some neatly bitter observations on his own life. His ex-wife, he told us, now lives in Spain. 'Not as far away as you think, to be honest.'

People say the funniest things.

Well, that's the hope of Liverpool comedian John Bishop as he explores the kinds of topics that people talk about down the pub via a mix of interview snippets, stand-up and sketches. To judge by a taster DVD, which largely features members of the great British public discussing relationships, it might just work. (Joanne on partner Kevin's boy-racer years: "Him and the car didn't go together, you'd have been better off with a Mini Metro.") However, that presupposes you reckon Bishop is funny rather than irritating. He might just be both.

It would make an interesting study to count how many times the BBC has used the once-fashionable word "edgy" to describe a comedy programme in the 18 months since the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand "Sachsgate" row touched ground. My bet is that you'd be able to count the instances on one hand. Instead, the Corporation has taken to producing industrial volumes of feel-good, night-out-with-your-mates-style comedy. This new bright and breezy entertainment show, hosted by Liverpudlian stand-up John Bishop, is a case in point. Bishop takes on a different theme in each of the series's six episodes - family, growing up, holidays, etc - and gives it a stand-up treatment, interspersed with contributions from celebrity guests, cheaply produced sketches and interviews with the general public. Puzzlingly, no specific information about tonight's first episode was available at the time of going to press, but I was able to watch a taster DVD for the series in which Bishop discussed the pros and cons of love and marriage in front of a studio audience. It was funny, in an easy, unchallenging sort of a way - and about as edgy as a Victoria sponge.

Bishop is the clean-cut Liverpudlian stand-up you may have seen on various comedy panel games including Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You. He also appeared on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, although he's about as different in style from McIntyre as you could get: where McIntyre scampers around in near hysterics, Bishop is steady and calm. He used to be a semi-professional footballer and looks the part of the suited, off-duty sportsman - only funnier. The idea is to combine his observational stand-up (which is near the knuckle at times) with recorded contributions from members of the public - from a Cambridge zookeeper to a model from Weston-super-Mare - on the same subject. It looks very promising.

There's a golden rule of comedy that says the less contrived the humour, the funnier it will turn out to be. Admittedly, this is a golden rule that I made up myself, shortly before I began typing the previous sentence, but that doesn't make it any less true.

Host John Bishop, Liverpool's latest big stand-up star, may be the one whose routines bind this new series together, but many of the laughs come from the clips inbetween, where members of the public simply relate their real-life experiences.

Each of the shows (also featuring sketches and celebrity guests) will tackle a different theme, such as marriage, work or holidays. "If you walk into a pub," says John, "these are the topics people talk about. It's the stuff that makes us who we are."

John Bishop interview

Since his appearance on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow last year, John Bishop's status as one of our leading comedians has been stratospheric - and now he's landed his own show.

BBC orders John Bishop series

The BBC has ordered a 6 x 30 minute series of John Bishop's Britain following a successful pilot.