Where do I start with this one?

15 Years ago British comedy was edging towards a remarkable heyday; Blackadder had finished, Fry & Laurie’s sketch series had hit comedy fans squarely between the eyes, and new writers such as Charlie Higson were forging careers providing gags for newcomers Reeves & Mortimer.  Meanwhile on Radio One we had The Mary Whitehouse Experience, in which David Baddiel, Rob Newman, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis worked in a bizarre duo of double acts in a format which soon translated to BBC Two.

All of this lead to the astonishing declaration in the New Musical Express that “Comedy is the New Rock n Roll!” with Newman & Baddiel going on tour and performing at Wembley, a move that was soon echoed by Charlie Higson and the rest of The Fast Show.

Comedy supergroups were all of a sudden the norm, and things were getting just a little bit bonkers, frankly.

Since those heady days, Little Britain has been on tour to audiences rivalling Newman & Baddiel, but it wasn’t really meant to be this way, was it? 

I can’t help but feel that as important as live comedy is, nothing is as important to the future of British comedy as the shared experience of watching the funniest series as a family or social group.  It seems that nowadays people have very particular funny bones, and this is only because comedy became “cool”. 

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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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