Angus Deayton and a host of guests return this Friday at 9pm with a second series of Would I Lie To You? the comedy panel gameshow that constantly evokes memories of the Charles and Eddie hit from 1991.

Accompanied by team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack, this week sees Rob Brydon and Robert Webb, Gabby Logan and Krishnan Guru-Murthy join in the fun. If you haven’t seen it before, it goes something like this:

Two teams compete head-to-head with each player revealing incredible facts and (at times woefully) embarrassing personal tales for the consideration of the opposing team. Some of these yarns are true; some are not, and it’s down to the panellists to separate the facts from the fabrications. Think Call My Bluff without the archaisms and with laughs.

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Delighted to say that Mock the Week is back on Thursday!

That’s right, the funniest man in Ireland Dara O’Braian and his teams return with the usual irreverent look at the weeks’ news.

For newcomers - it’s a sort of Have I Got News For You mixed with Whose Line Is It Anyway?, recorded in front of a studio audience the same day, and features the crushingly funny Frankie Boyle and Andy Parsons along with various others, including regular captain Hugh Dennis.

Certainly not worth missing for any fan of comedy - tune in Thursday 10th July at 9pm BBC TWO

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It has been rumoured that long-running radio antidote to panel games I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue is set to continue following the sad loss of Humphrey Lyttleton in April.

Who on earth could replace him though? Several names have been mentioned, but here is Quintessential Comedy’s list of suggestions:

Michael Palin - would prevent him doing any more bloody travelogues.

Ian Hislop - busy with documentaries and HIGNFY he may be, but he’s the sort of unlikely candidate that could make a success of being a replacement

Angus Deayton - helmed Have I Got News For You for years, so certainly has the experience.

Stephen Fry - obvious, maybe, but he could certainly do the job.

Mark Radcliffe - no stranger to double entendre, and could work as a perfect counterbalance to the more educated tones of the regular guests.

Ken Bruce - urbane, dry, occasionally stumbling - perfect

Of course it is obvious that if the show returns, it will never be the same, regardless of the host. In his eulogy in The Guardian, Barry Cryer underlined that there had to be “an agonising reappraisal”.

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Thoroughly enjoyed the latest Have I Got News For You, which featured foxy newsreader Kate Silverton, superpoet Ian McMillan and car lunatic and oil guzzler Jeremy Clarkson on hosting duties.

The highlight was surely Clarkson being reduced into fits of giggles following a slightly cruel - but very funny - reference to the sex offenders register courtesy of Paul Merton.
The one big shame is of course that the series’ runs are too short, giving time for Ian Hislop to continue in his bid to become the “New Michael Palin”…

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Following in the footsteps of Bill Bailey, Brian Blessed and Kirsty Young in this series, top standup comic Lee Mack is in the hotseat this week as he asks the questions and attempts to keep Paul Merton in check.

I can only forsee some superb comedy, to be frank - they are two of the countries best comedic minds and sticking them in the same room together can only be a good thing!

It’s wonderful to see, too, the series continuing to be as strong as it was when it first began.  Angus Deayton seems a distant memory now, and somehow Ian Hislop has become funnier.  Paul Merton’s flights of fancy may be less in-depth in the broadcast versions these days, but the whole package is a tight, self contained piece of news and politics expertly ripped to shreds, and is a please to watch every week

Don’t forget to catch up on the HIGNFY webisode, which include footage not seen on the Friday evening broadcast.

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June 15 has been announced as the day when Radio 4 will broadcast a series of tributes to Humphrey Lyttleton, jazz trumpeter and star of I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, who died recently.

Shows on the day will include a new tribute documentary, as well as repeats of his Desert Island Discs appearance.  There will also be a repeat of his programme about jazz, The King of the Swingers.

A newly commissioned profile of I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, with extracts of the best programmes, will be presented by Stephen Fry.

No decision has been announced over the future of the series; Rob Brydon recently filled in for Humph while the presenter was in hospital.

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It’s with a sad heart that I relate the news of Humphrey Lyttleton’s passing.  The jazz musician extraordinaire and host of the long running “antidote to panel games” I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue passed away yesterday at the age of 86, following surgery for an aortic aneurysm.

Lyttleton was born into the landed gentry, but a short career spell in Wales amongst steel workers set him on the road to socialism. His trumpet playing began soon before the war, during which he took the instrument with him wherever he went, and can (possibly) be heard on footage of VE Day in London.  the following 60 or so years saw him marry twice, develop his musical, his artistic ability and forge careers in music, broadcasting, cartoons and of course as the deadpan host of a comedy institution. (There is so much more about Humprey Lyttleton’s life in this excellent obituary in The Telegraph.)
There is little else I can add, other than to remind us of some wonderful double entrendres, from the exploits of the fictitious scoring girl Samantha…

 - Samantha’s just started keeping bees and already has three dozen or so. She says she’s got an expert handler coming round to give a demonstration. He’ll carefully take out her 38 bees and soon have them flying round his head.

- Samantha has to nip out to the House of Lords with her constituency friend. He’s looking for support for his MP who’s facing expulsion, and Samantha says it’s important to have a good peer if his member’s likely to be out.

- Samantha spent many hours in conversation with the BBC gramophone library research staff for this round, deliberating over the fine old 7-inchers they presented for inspection. She says before deciding which she was going to spin she had to think about each one long and hard

…and may he rest in peace.

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It’s back - the most consistently funny comedy panel game/topical news quiz on television anywhere returns this evening with regular captains Ian Hislop and the excellent Paul Merton joined by Jack Dee in the chair.

Deadpan Jack Dee has been one of the better guest hosts, having sat in the chair 5 times now since Angus Deayton’s departure in 2002.

Expect some stinging Gordon Brown baiting, as the new PM doesn’t seem to have any idea of the meaning of presentation, and the BBC seems to be increasingly ambivalent towards Labour in their editorials.

Also expect plenty of digs at celebrity culture, Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty are good bets there, as well as references to the sport Hislop knows nothing about (football) and if you’re very lucky, an Ian Hislop impersonation of one of only one people he can impersonate!

Have I Got News For You might have been on tv for 18 or so years, but it remains one of the most entertaining ways to spend 30 minutes in front of a television, and returns tonight at 9pm, BBC One.

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I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue is on tour, this week kicking off at Hammermith Apollo. 

And when I say “on tour”, I mean “on tour”. 

Humphrey Lyttelton, Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Jeremy Hardy and the pianist Colin Sell are appearing in the second phase of the tour that began in 2007, and comprising of favourite rounds from the shows 35 years. 

The tour is not being recorded for Radio 4, although there’s no reason why it shouldn’t end up on a special audio release.

I you haven’t come across I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, then that is something you need to resolve quickly.  It is Quintessential Comedy, and can easily be purchased via download or on CD from varying outfits, including Amazon.

The series own description is “”the antidote to panel games”, and the four panel members of comedians are split into two teams and “given silly things to do” by the chairman, Humphrey Lyttleton. 

Now if that isn’t a recipe for success, I don’t know what is.

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Just tuned in for the first time to Clive Anderson’s Chat Room; a simple, honest formula with a good selection of guests providing radiophonic mirth on Saturday lunchtimes.

What we have is basically a topical discussion chaired by Anderson and contributed to by a group of comedians and veteran broadcasters, as well as some minor contributions from the audience; think Question Time with laughs.

 On Saturday March 8^th we the audience were treated to Gyles Brandreth (bear with me), Andy Parsons, Helen Lederer and Paul Sinha – not a name I’m currently familiar with.  Former Liberal party leader Charles Kennedy was for some reason absent.

So what we have is a sideways and frankly honest look at the issues of the day; texting while driving, widening motorways, European Union Referendum, and anything you can think of, really. 

If we had some sort of recommended five star “Tune In” system, Clive Anderson’s Chat Room would be up there with 5 stars. 

The remainder of the series features:

Programme two - 13 March:
Arthur Smith, Kirsty Wark, Dom Joly and Miles Jupp

Programme three - 20 March:
Dave Gorman, Carole Malone and Frankie Boyle

Programme four - 27 March:
Kelvin Mackenzie, Julie Kirkbride MP and Griff Rhys-Jones

Programme five - 3 April:
Ed Byrne, Will Self and Nick Clegg MP

Programme six - 10 April:
Tony Hawks and Miranda Sawyer

Meanwhile you can find out more about the show at the BBC webpage.

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