Never Mind The Buzzcocks

Another series of music-based panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks began this week. It's the 26th series, and it has to be said it's starting to show...

Although they still have Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding onside, producers are still sticking with guest hosts. This week's host was Katy Burke - who did an OK job - but the panellists are, like always, a mixed bunch. Sarah Millican is usually always reliable, but then you had Fazer from N-Dubz, who I think was only called on because he was the only member of the band who had not appeared on the show before...

Another guest on this episode was Olympian long jumper Greg Rutherford, whose contribution was somewhat dubious. While Burke managed to get some good one-liners from him, I thought that the round entitled "Name that Ginger" was slightly tasteless.

The "Identity Parade". was also problematic. Usually the round features band members - but they must be struggling to find anyone new because instead the line-ups consisted of the now grown-up baby on Nirvana's Nevermind album, and someone's super-fan...

Hopefully this was just a blip, but I can't help but feel that it's time to for Never Mind the Buzzcocks to either shape up or stop.

Series 26, episode one: team captains Noel Fielding and Phill Jupitus are back in their chairs for more rude pop-based quizzing. In the presenter's seat - still without a regular occupant since the peerless Simon Amstell resigned - is Kathy Burke. Her excellent comedy Walking and Talking showed she knows and loves her pop music, at least if it was released in 1979. Among the guests are Fazer from N-Dubz and surprise Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford.

A best-of compilation proving that this has been yet another strong series. Your hosts include Tinie Tempah, who was confident enough not to try to be funny all the time, but was funny when he did try; and James Blunt, who was even more confident in that he did try to be funny all the time, and was. At one point Blunt had Phill Jupitus doubled over laughing at a naughty joke about the Pussycat Dolls. We can only hope Blunt devotes more and more of his time to comedy.

Meanwhile, the myths surrounding Alice Cooper's rock antics gave the show's gag-writers one of their best nights, and earlier this month Cilla Black made a surprise appearance.

A four-point plan to fix Never Mind The Buzzcocks

Never Mind The Buzzcocks has been through many phases in its long life. There were the early Lamarr years when the laughs didn't come so thick and fast, but it did feel passionate about music. There were the Amstell years, when the jokes may have become increasingly abusive, but they were damned funny. And then there are the guest host years, where the show is about...well, what IS the show about these days?

Will Young dresses up as Sinitta for Buzzcocks

Singer Will Young tries to be So Macho - dressed in all yellow as 1980s pop star Sinitta.

I just recorded Never Mind The Buzzcocks. It's quite an odd experience these days, post-Amstell. He used to chat to the pop guests so much it felt like Parkinson. Nowadays they don't get much attention at all. And the rounds whizz by with markedly less banter because whoever's hosting tends to try and follow producers' instructions, which generally run along the lines of 'stop those people talking about anal sex' or whatever the riff du jour is.

Strangely, after 25 series, Buzzcocks is starting to resemble a pop quiz again.

Still - I was never much good at banter so it suits me quite well to sit there and finish off the odd song lyric. I wore a suit, if you like that kind of thing. The show was hosted by Will Young, who is charming. And it mostly centres around Paul Foot. Who is very funny. You can watch it on Halloween night, if you're not too busy dressing as a cat or Satan.

The 25th series of Never Mind the Buzzcocks contains some new elements from the previous editions: new rounds, new set. But it still sticks with ever-changing hosts.

This week, following his stint on Ask Rhod Gilbert, it was David Hasselhoff's turn in the hot seat. Guests included Peter Serafinowicz, Louie Spence, and the usual two musical guests than no-one has ever heard of and whose names I can't remember.

The only contribution these musical guests made that stuck in my mind is that one of them was able to read the answers on Hasselhoff's question cards (possible flaw with the new set design maybe?). Here we see the key problem with panel games - it relies on the right guests. Yes, they know a lot about music, but you watch the show for the comedy they're a bit of a waste.

Obviously there are some good moments, whether it is Hasselhoff making fun of himself, the panel making fun of him, or Louie Spence merely doing anything; but Buzzcocks has never been the greatest panel show ever made...

It's been with us some 15 years now, and, in the wake of Have I Got News For You, has reached that stage of its maturity where it has guest hosts. This week it's David Hasselhoff, whose career of affectionately parodying his Hasselhoff persona has outlasted his earlier, un-ironic one. Regular team captains Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding are on hand, joined by Pineapple Dance Studios star Louie Spence, Amelle Berrabah of Sugababes and the ever-reliable Peter Serafinowicz.

Never let it be said that David Hasselhoff can't take a joke, so prepare for some ill-advised gyrating as he takes the helm for the start of the surreal music quiz's 25th series.

Adding to a very animated atmosphere is the never-knowingly-understated Louis Spence, Sugababe Amelle Berrabah, ­Twitter's pre-eminent off-the-cuff comedian Peter Serafinowicz and singer Loick Essien.

To mark the show's silver jubilee, there have been a few face-lifts to bring the show bang up to date: there's a slick new desk, a shiny new logo and even some surprising tweaks to the final round.

What's not changed, of course, is the top notch banter between rival captains Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding, who treat this quiz with the ­seriousness it deserves.

The music quiz returns for a 25th series with an unsafe pair of hands at the tiller: fresh from baffling the nation as a judge on Britain's Got Talent, David Hasselhoff is your host. Bracing themselves to laugh uncomfortably as the Hoff delivers jokes he doesn't get to a spot six inches to the right of the camera are regular captains Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding.

Among tonight's guests are replacement Sugababe Amelle Berrabah, chronic jazz-hander Louie Spence and comedian Peter Serafinowicz.