The John Bishop Show (2015)

Radio Times review

The audience gets strangely excited by the opening act, which John Bishop tells us has been booked to redress the balance. Instead of the usual scantily clad female dancers, it's a troupe of scantily clad male dancers. As the lights are turned out by the time they're down to their underpants, the whoops and shrieks seem a little excessive.

Also on the bill are comedian Andy "I have absolutely no charisma" Askins, who turns Dido's Thank You into a dark musing on a wretched marriage, and stand-up Jason Byrne. He picks two useless volunteers to help with his rubbish magic act and turns it into a manic piece of slapstick.

The John Bishop Show - primetime comedy digs deep

If Andrew Lawrence does want to complain again he should be critical of John Bishop, not at any BBC diversity policy, positive discrimination or political correctness gone bonkers.

The John Bishop Show brings variety back

We're now half way through the series, so we can look forward to plenty more variety during the next few weeks - perhaps we should thank John Bishop, too, for spicing up our lives.

Opinion: The John Bishop Show - accidentally brilliant?

I have to say I've been impressed by The John Bishop Show. Just when you think stand-up on mainstream TV has settled into a rut with the same acts on a shiny-floored conveyor belt John Bishop has given air-time to different stand-ups who really deserve it in a weirdly appealing mash-up of seaside special variety and club comedy.

The John Bishop Show review

This unapologetically, even proudly, retro venture sees Paul Weller, comedians, and a beatboxer topped off with the wit of Trevor Noah, who turns the joke on us.

The John Bishop Show, BBC One - TV review

Old-school telly suits Saturday night sofa slumping.

Radio Times review

In the title sequence of his new series, John Bishop drives along in a vintage Ford Cortina, a retro touch that hints at the old-fashioned flavour of the proposition here. It's a comedy-music-acrobatics variety show - presumably aimed at those of us who haven't quite had our fill of variety after a week of Britain's Got Talent live shows.

Mind you, there's a better class of act here: Paul Weller plays his new single, there's improvised music from beatboxer Beardyman, and Trevor Noah - the South African comedian set to succeed Jon Stewart on The Daily Show - does a stand-up set.

The John Bishop Show review

It's the sort of comedians booked on tonight's bill which suggests that The John Bishop Show does have something different to offer the genre, even if it otherwise looks and feels like so many other mainstream shows. The guest policy is probably never going to be totally 'out there' - but at least it's showing some of the diversity in the live circuit, beyond the same old panel-show faces.

TV preview: The John Bishop Show, BBC1

These are busy times for television-friendly comedians. Even though Live at the Apollo is taking a break there seem to be more mainstream openings than ever for those that fancy a bit of exposure. ITV1 has Sunday Night at the Palladium and now BBC One has jumped in a day earlier with The John Bishop Show.