Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Entertainment & Performing Arts

Serving up razor-sharp caricatures and explosively satirical truth-bombs since January 2000, Dead Ringers is one of Radio 4’s most popular and critically acclaimed comedy shows. In these five series, first broadcast between 2015 and 2019, media mauling and celebrity savaging are once more the order of the day, as Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey poke fun at the worlds of politics and entertainment.

Stand-up star, quizzer and Rose d'Or winner Paul Sinha is banned from taking part in pub quizzes—so he's decided to create his own. In his bid to put together the ultimate syllabus for this great social tradition, he offers up a wealth of surprising and original questions—as well as the fascinating stories behind the answers. He then goes on to open it up to the audience, who attempt to stump him with their own favourite puzzlers.

Bringing together both The Wildebeest Years and Forty Nights in the Wildebeest, this fantastic collection showcases the brilliant, pop-culture-filled and one-liner-rich comedy of Nick Romero and Dan Freedman. From Incy Wincy Quincy, spider pathologist, and The Archers abroad (and in a new sci-fi format) to an amoebic Top Gear, Richard Coles as Robin Would, and a family of salad starring in Tossed in Space, the cabaret-style show features music from the house band, The Gents, and is full of wit, fun, and all the puns you could ever need.

Radio 4's longest-running panel show, in which contestants are challenged to speak on a on a given topic for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition, returns with Sue Perkins at the helm for this complete collection of episodes from 2023. Featuring quickfire improvisation, inspired ad-libbing and spontaneous hilarity - as well as a live studio audience - join Sue Perkins and her guests as they battle for points, glory and the perfect, uninterrupted minute.

With its brilliant blend of the silly, the serious and the satirical, The News Quiz has been a must-listen for comedy fans since it started 46 years ago. Recorded in front of an audience, these three series see Andy Zaltzman presiding over a motley crew of comedians and journalists as they trawl through the biggest (and smallest) news stories of 2023 to provide comedy, commentary, irony and irreverence.

Comedian, actor and bestselling author Ellie Taylor welcomes us to her 'safe space', a place where anyone can air their views, gripes and dislikes without fear of persecution. Assisting her on her confessional journey are sidekick Robin Morgan and members of the audience, who share their own dark and disturbing beliefs at the beginning of each show. Having heard from them, Ellie goes on to get her own opinions off her chest. Through stand-up and sketches, she gives us her hot take on topics such as masculinity, the environment, parties, the news, the Internet and billionaires.

Ever since 1977, The News Quiz has been finding the hilarity in the headlines and providing witty commentary on stories big and small. In these 25 episodes from 2009, the inimitable Sandi Toksvig is in the hot seat, presiding over an all-star panel of journalists and comedians.

For over 40 years, The News Quiz has been scrutinising the headlines to give us its unique, sardonic take on the stories that are making a splash. In these 25 episodes, we raid the archives from 2010 to rediscover the highs, lows and mediums of that action-packed year. Sandi Toksvig is in the chair once more, attempting to corral panellists including Micky Flanagan, Armando Iannucci, Fred MacAulay, Milton Jones, Gyles Brandreth, Bridget Christie, Will Smith, Ava Vidal and Danielle Ward.

The first ever publication of a long-lost episode of Hancock's Half Hour, featuring Peter Sellers - plus bonus material. Legendary sitcom Hancock's Half Hour ran for 102 episodes on BBC Radio between 1954 and 1959. Over 20 shows were subsequently lost - but now one of the funniest and most sought-after, 'The Marriage Bureau', has been rediscovered. The penultimate episode of Series 1, it features a unique appearance from Peter Sellers, standing in for Kenneth Williams. Available for the first time since its original broadcast in 1955, it sees Hancock looking for a job - and a wife...

It's the 1970s, and you're invited behind the scenes of Doctor Who. You'll go on location to witness the recording of two classic TV adventures (The Sea Devils and Robot) and spend time inside a vintage BBC television studio. You'll also learn how to write a script or make a monster, 1970s-style! Authors Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke will guide you through the first ten years of Doctor Who history, detailing how it was created, the people who brought it into being, and the actors who portrayed the Doctor, his friends and their monstrous enemies.

A leading light of British stage and screen from the 1950s onwards, Ian Carmichael made a career out of playing the amiable, bumbling nincompoop in films such as Private's Progress and I'm All Right Jack, and TV shows including Bachelor Father and The World of Wooster. This dithering persona was expanded and amplified in his first radio comedy, Play It Cool. Written in 1964 by Beyond Our Ken's Eric Merriman, it sees him joined by Carry On's Joan Sims and radio veteran Hugh Paddick (Beyond Our Ken, Round the Horne) for a series that mixes music and comedy to provide a slice of 1960s cool.

Award-winning comedian Josie Long has performed nine hit stand-up shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, subsequently touring them around the UK and internationally. This BBC Radio series was adapted from her hit 2009 stage show, and finds her attempting to unravel the mysteries of the universe through ad hoc research. Using the knowledge she's gleaned, she gives us the lowdown on her selected subject - with the help of her special guests, who join in with questions, illustrations and interruptions.

Hosted once again by the incomparable Sandi Toksvig, these four series of the satirical radio panel game take us through all the big stories of 2013, the year of Obama's inaugaration, Margaret Thatcher's funeral, Prince George's birth and Andy Murray's first Wimbledon win. Series 79 features a 'Best of 2012' compilation show and 'The News Now Quiz Show', hosted by Rory Bremner, which sees Sandi and fellow News Quizzer Jeremy Hardy take on The Now Show's Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis in the ultimate topical smackdown. And the specials don't stop there: Series 81 also includes an Edinburgh edition.

Four more series of the long-running satirical panel show chaired by Miles Jupp. Since its inception in 1977, The News Quiz has been taking an irreverent sideways look at the headlines, playfully poking fun at the issues, incidents and individuals that make the news. These 32 episodes, first broadcast between January 2017 and February 2018, see Miles Jupp in the chair once more, as he shepherds the panellists through the top stories from that eventful period.

The News Quiz, 'the finest topical comedy panel game known to radio', has been providing headlines, punchlines, irony and irreverence since it was first broadcast in 1977. In these 33 episodes from September 2015 to October 2016, Miles Jupp takes over at the helm, replacing previous host Sandi Toksvig.

Four further series of the award-winning satirical panel show. For over 45 years, The News Quiz has been taking a scalpel to the headlines, dissecting them with its inimitable blend of satire, silliness and sharp-witted commentary. These 32 episodes, first broadcast between April 2018 and May 2019, find the team tackling stories big and small from that news-packed year.

Seven more series of the popular BBC Radio 4 impressions show - plus a selection of unbroadcast material. Since the turn of the millennium, Dead Ringers has been giving us its skewed, hilarious take on the famous and the infamous. The show has won a British Comedy Award, a Sony Gold Award, and a Press Guild Award for Radio Programme of the Year - and won a legion of fans with its merciless parodies, mocking every programme, institution and politician you hold dear.

Wickedly funny and bitingly satirical, Dead Ringers has been lampooning politicans, celebrities and media pundits for over 20 years. In these seven series, first broadcast between 2000 and 2002, the team give us their peerless impressions of the personalities we love to laugh at: from Tony Blair and George W. Bush to Brian Sewell, Posh n' Becks and Kirsty Wark.

A fast-paced mix of stand-up, songs and sketches, The Now Show takes an off-the-wall look at world events, blending satire and silliness to poke fun at politics and lampoon the news. In these 18 episodes from 2014 and 2015, Steve Punt co-presents with Hugh Dennis and, on one occasion, Jon Culshaw. Joining them are a raft of comedians including Nathan Caton, Elis James, Sara Pascoe, Aditi Mittal, Alex Edelman and Alexei Sayle, as they dissect the headlines with their scalpel of wit.

A long-time favourite of Friday night comedy fans, The Now Show presents the headlines through sketches, songs and stand-up, providing a wry, satirical perspective on UK and world events. In these 19 episodes from 2015 and 2016, hosts Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by some of the brightest and best comedy writers and performers—including Mitch Benn, Pippa Evans, John Finnemore, Mae Martin, Adam Kay and Nish Kumar—for an entertaining romp through the worlds of politics, popular culture and current affairs.