Comedy News

 

  • Fringe rules out earlier dates .. for now

    The Edinburgh Fringe Society has ruled out moving next year's festival to an earlier date, despite growing calls from venues and performers. Festival chiefs said it would be logistically impossible to change the twenty twenty seven dates at such short notice, given the number of organisations involved. However, chief executive Tony Lankester said he remained open to a wider discussion about the festival's future rhythm, noting that next year's dates should see a return to the more familiar twelve-day overlap with school holidays.

  • More MPs support recognition of grass roots comedy

    More than sixty MPs from across the political spectrum have now thrown their support behind the Live Comedy Association's campaign to have grassroots live comedy officially recognised in government cultural policy. Over forty five MPs have signed a joint letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, with a further sixteen backing the campaign informally. The LCA is calling for comedy to be treated on a par with live music when it comes to VAT on tickets, business rates reform and support for freelancers.

  • Ann Droid has been recommissioned for a second series

    Diane Morgan's BBC One sitcom Ann Droid has been recommissioned for a second series after attracting seven point six million viewers for its first episode — making it the BBC's second biggest new scripted launch of the year. Morgan, who created and co-wrote the show with Sarah Kendall, said the response had been incredible. Sue Johnston, who plays her elderly companion, said she was unbelievably happy, adding that even her doctor had started calling her Sue, Sue, Sue. The full first series is available on BBC iPlayer now.

  • Calls to move the dates for the Edinburgh Fringe

    Calls are growing for the Edinburgh Fringe to be moved a week earlier following widespread complaints that the final days of this year's festival were poorly attended. Major venue Assembly Festival has formally proposed that the twenty twenty seven event be brought forward, noting that shows have been playing to half-empty rooms since Scottish schools returned at the end of the first week. Comedian Susie McCabe was among the most vocal critics, describing the current scheduling as absolutely ludicrous. The Fringe Society has so far not committed to any change.

  • Additional Peter Kay gig in Blackpool

    Peter Kay has announced a special extra performance at Blackpool Opera House on Sunday the twenty seventh of September in aid of young fan Fin Cormack, who needs vital heart surgery. Kay said he saw a news report about Fin's situation and felt he had to do something to help. All proceeds from the one pm matinee will go towards the All In For Fin fundraising campaign.

  • Winner of Joke Of The Fringe announced

    Olaf Falafel has won this year's Joke of the Fringe competition — and with some style. The one-liner king took first, second and tenth place in the top ten, with his winning gag about taping a piranha to a boomerang coming back to bite him. The competition, run by Need to Know Comedy, awarded him five hundred pounds in prize money.

  • Daniel Sloss and Connor Burns team up at Glasgow International Comedy Festival

    Daniel Sloss and rising Scottish stand-up Connor Burns have announced a joint weekend of shows at the SEC Armadillo in Glasgow as part of the twenty twenty seven Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Sloss will perform his sold-out show Bitter on Friday the nineteenth of March, with Burns bringing his show Flow the following night. Tickets go on sale this Friday at eleven am from glasgowcomedyfestival.com. .

  • Taskmaster returns on Wednesday 3rd September

    Taskmaster is returning to Channel Four on Wednesday the third of September at ten pm. The twenty second series features Chloe Petts, Isy Suttie, Matt Lucas, Nina Conti and Richard Ayoade tackling challenges involving secret tunnels, faces on toast and some very creative use of their armpits. Greg Davies returns as the Taskmaster with Alex Horne by his side, and the series will also be available to watch on YouTube outside the UK.

  • Christmas TV special for Alan Carr

    Alan Carr's ITV sitcom Changing Ends is getting its first ever Christmas special. ITV has added the extra episode to the fourth series of the semi-autobiographical comedy about Carr's life growing up gay in Northampton, which has now been streamed more than twenty six million times since launching in twenty twenty three. The new series and Christmas special are both expected to air later this year. .

  • NextUp announces nominees for Biggest Award in Comedy

    NextUp — often described as the Netflix of UK stand-up — has announced the twenty nominees for its Biggest Award in Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe. The longlist features Fringe debuts alongside character comedy, clowning and storytelling from across the UK and beyond. Last year's winner Ayoade Bamgboye went on to win the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer before joining the cast of Saturday Night Live UK. Voting is open now at nextupcomedy.com and closes at midnight on the twenty fifth of August.

  • Brand new comedy festival for Leicester

    A brand new comedy festival has been announced for Leicester, organised by local promoter Colin Bowles and stand-up comedian Alex Hylton — two of the many people left unpaid following the collapse of the Big Difference Company behind the Leicester Comedy Festival. The Independent Comedy Festival will take place in February twenty twenty seven, with hundreds of shows across dozens of venues including the Y Theatre and Firebug. Crucially, ticketing will be handled by a partner called TixEvery, ensuring artists are paid directly and promptly.

  • Myra Dubois announce biggest tour to date

    Myra DuBois has announced her biggest UK and Ireland tour to date. The self-declared siren from South Yorkshire — the comic creation of character comedian Gareth Joyner — will take her new show Siren on the road from March to May next year, with highlights including a night at the Eventim Apollo in London. Tickets go on general sale from myradubois.co.uk. .

  • Jimmy Carr's new book

    Jimmy Carr has written a new book about the hidden mechanics of comedy. Co-created with director Amanda Baker and writer Abi Grant, On Jokes claims to offer a fully unified theory of how to make people laugh, drawing on the jokecraft course the trio established in twenty twenty three. The book is published by Quercus on the twenty second of October, priced twenty five pounds in hardback. .

  • Sam and Ade Go Birding returns for second series

    Channel Five has recommissioned Sam and Ade Go Birding for a second series of six new episodes. Samuel West and Adrian Edmondson return to explore Britain's birdlife and landscapes, travelling from Yorkshire and West Wales to the remote isles of Scotland in search of swifts, puffins, ospreys and more. The series is currently in production with a transmission date to be announced. .

  • Gwen from Gavin & Stacey joins Strictly

    Gavin and Stacey star Melanie Walters has been confirmed as the final celebrity to join this year's Strictly Come Dancing lineup. The Swansea-born actress, best known for playing the omelette-obsessed Gwen West in the beloved BBC comedy, says she's thrilled to be swapping her pantomime fairy wand for sequinned dance shoes. The new series returns to BBC One and iPlayer this September. .

  • Last One Laughing; Halloween edition

    Prime Video has revealed the star-studded lineup for Last One Laughing: Halloween. Joining host Jimmy Carr and his deputy Roisin Conaty will be Jack Dee, Daisy May Cooper, Phil Wang, Lou Sanders, Reece Shearsmith and Tom Allen, all competing to keep a straight face through a series of ghostly surprises and cursed props. The Halloween special launches on Prime Video on the twenty third of October. .

  • Leicester mayor vows comedy festival will take place next year

    Leicester's mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has vowed that a comedy festival will take place in the city next year, despite the collapse of the Big Difference Company which organised the event for more than thirty years. The council says it will work with local promoters, venues and other stakeholders to put together an interim festival programme for twenty twenty seven, while a sustainable long-term solution is found. .

  • The Joy Of Sex film on its way

    A star-studded comedy film about the creation of the famous Joy of Sex book is now in production. Colin Firth leads the cast as author Alex Comfort, with Laura Linney and Julianne Moore playing the two women in his unconventional love triangle. David Tennant and Jason Watkins also star in the film, which has been written by Bridget Jones's Baby director Sharon Maguire and Young Ones co-writer Lise Mayer.

  • Ellie Taylor to co-host It Takes Two

    Taskmaster star Ellie Taylor is reportedly set to host Strictly Come Dancing’s spin-off show It Takes Two. Taylor, who appeared as a contestant in the twenty twenty two series alongside pro partner Johannes Radebe, is said to have been a firm favourite with the production team ever since. She replaces Fleur East and Janette Manrara, with producers reportedly keen to give the show a major refresh.

  • Joe Pasquale heading to Masterchef

    Joe Pasquale is heading into the MasterChef kitchen later this summer as part of the Celebrity MasterChef lineup. The comedian joins a cast including Olympic weightlifter Emily Campbell, TV presenter Jason Mohammad and Love Island's Shakira Khan. Pasquale, who says he's always fancied himself as a bit of a chef, is also heading to the Edinburgh Fringe next week for a run in Eleven and a Half Angry Men at the Pleasance.

  • Ludwig back for a third series

    The BBC has ordered a third series of David Mitchell's comedy drama Ludwig — before the second series has even aired. Mitchell plays a reclusive puzzle setter who goes undercover as his detective twin brother in the show, which became a big hit for BBC One. Production on the new series is expected to get underway later this year…

  • Adam and Joe re-unite for special one-off show

    Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish are reuniting for a special one-off show at the Royal Albert Hall this November to mark thirty years of The Adam and Joe Show. The duo will look back at their cult Channel Four series through clips, memories and behind-the-scenes stories in what promises to be a giant nostalgia-filled watch party.

  • Peter Kay announces final tour dates

    Peter Kay has announced the final dates of his record-breaking Better Late Than Never Tour — and they're all for charity. The Bolton comedian will play Brighton, Cardiff, Hull and Blackpool this autumn, with all profits split between The Lily Foundation, Maggie's cancer care charity and The Be More Laura Foundation.

  • BBC axes Live At The Apollo

    The BBC has axed Live at the Apollo after twenty two years, with budget cuts forcing the end of the much-loved stand-up showcase. Blankety Blank and Celebrity Mastermind are also among the casualties as the corporation looks to save a hundred million pounds a year from its content budget. One final series — the twenty first — is yet to broadcast, and the BBC has promised to announce digital plans focused on stand-up and emerging comedy talent in its place…

  • New Ali G film on its way

    Sacha Baron Cohen has reportedly shot a brand new Ali G film in secret. According to a Hollywood industry newsletter, the project — first mooted during the writers' strike of twenty twenty three — has now wrapped, with Cohen said to have been spotted filming in character around Oxfordshire and also in the United States. No release date or distribution deal has been confirmed yet.

  • Lindsey Santoro heading to Edinburgh Fringe

    Stand-up Lindsey Santoro is heading to this year's Edinburgh Fringe with her new show It Was Like That When I Got Here. The comedian, who cites Lee Evans as an early inspiration, will perform at the Monkey Barrel from the nineteenth to the thirtieth of August. She's been speaking about her love of a good heckle and the pressures of being tipped as one to watch at the Fringe.

  • Daddy Issues Back for this, and final, series

    BBC-Three comedy Daddy Issues is returning for a third and final series. The Stockport-set show,
    starring Aimee Lou Wood and David Morrissey as a young mum and her hapless dad, was BBC Three's
    biggest comedy launch since the start of twenty twenty two, and series two was the channel's top
    scripted title for twenty twenty five. The new six-part series picks up eighteen months on, with Gemma finally finding some stability in life — but not for long.

  • Stage tour for Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town

    A brand new stage tour is coming for one of British comedy's most beloved sketches. The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town, originally created by Spike Milligan and made famous by The Two Ronnies, is getting its first ever theatrical adaptation to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its original broadcast. The tour runs from September through to November, taking in venues across England and Wales.

  • James Rocquet tour announced

    New Zealand stand-up James Rocquet bringing his worldwide tour to the UK this October. The Filipino-New Zealand comedian will perform his new show Mano Po at venues including Edinburgh's Monkey Barrel, Leeds Hyde Park Book Club, and two nights at The Bill Murray in London — the first of which has already sold out. Further dates take in Southampton, Manchester and Bristol.

  • Matt Lucas to play Fagin in Oliver

    Matt Lucas is stepping into one of British musical theatre's most iconic roles, playing Fagin in Oliver! at the Gielgud Theatre in London. He takes over for a six-week run from the twenty second of September to the first of November, while regular Fagin Simon Lipkin takes a break to become a father for the first time. Lucas most recently wowed audiences as Thénardier in the Les Misérables arena spectacular.

 

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