Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Comedy & Humor

Ostensibly a quickfire quiz, The Guessing Game is really a show that pushes facts aside in favour of flights of fancy and rewards the funniest, luckiest and most bizarre guesses. The premise is simple: host Clive Anderson fires off a series of difficult and implausible questions, and awards points to the panellists for their outlandish answers. Included here are all 12 episodes of the witty, whimsical and wildly speculative show.

Since winning the Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1993, Dominic Holland has gone on to become one of the UK’s best loved comedians. He’s worked with Armando Iannucci, Rob Brydon and supported Eddie Izzard on tour. He is also the father of Tom Holland (best known for starring in the blockbuster Spider-man movies) and made the brilliant 2017 Dominic Holland Eclipsed Edinburgh Fringe show out of the experience of being a superhero’s dad.

There can be only one parody musical master, and Mitch Benn thinks it’s him. Although Richard Stilgoe may have something to say about that. Laugh out loud as Mitch sets out on a musical journey through the showbiz glitz and backstage litter of pop music. Teaming up with Mitch is comedian Robin Ince, and between them they delve into the world of super fans, the glamorous trappings and excesses of pop-star life and its highs and lows.

Room 101 is the anti-Desert Island Discs. Instead of picking the tracks, books and luxuries they love, guests are invited to banish their least favourite things to Orwell's eponymous chamber of horrors. Twenty-seven episodes of the show were broadcast on Radio 5 between 1992 and 1994, and it went on to run for 18 hit series on BBC TV before relaunching on Radio 4 in 2023. This specially curated collection contains 16 of the very best editions of the original radio series.

Lucy Porter explores family life via songs, sketches and stand-up. Lucy Porter is well known for her cheery, feelgood comedy. She has toured both nationally and internationally with her one-woman shows, and her many TV and radio appearances include Live at the Apollo, QI, The Now Show and The News Quiz. In this trilogy of stand-up specials, she examines domestic life from the dramatic to the dreary, aided by comedian and impressionist Luke Kempner.

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.

Living in flats in a converted house in North London, a group of middle-aged neighbours navigate their careers, love lives and family dramas in this charming sitcom full of heart.

If you Google 'Lemn Sissay', all the results will be about him - he's the only person in the world with that name. But that's not the only thing that makes him unique. In this fascinating series, he mixe

When her 13-year-old twins head off to boarding school, Felicity Willow decides it's time to reconnect with her husband, Paul. The years of childcare have taken their toll on the marriage and Felicity dives headfirst into trying to re-ignite that spark of love. Paul, somewhat bewildered by his wife's endeavours, gamely plays along with her efforts. Hilarity ensues as Felicity devotes all her energies into the new project but as it turns out, recapturing romantic bliss isn't as easy as it sounds, and poor Felicity feels thwarted at every turn.

Brothers Jack and Lesley Burrows are as different from each other as they can possibly be. After their mum passes away, there's a surprise at the reading of her will. An unexpected windfall has been left to them, but there's one very big catch: the brothers must commit to living together for three months. As far as Jack and Lesley are concerned, this is a total disaster. They will do everything they can to avert the crisis and get their hands on their cash legacy.

In this brilliantly weird and hilarious sketch show, Dan Antopolski, Tom Craine and Nat Luurtsema find themselves trying not to annoy their accountant, taking a theatre trip to see Les Misérables, dreaming of opening a cattery, and singing a song in praise of fathers-in-law. Add to that a telling off to Clark Kent from his editor, a will reading with some rather odd twists, a bit of trouble with a life support machine and a very confusing cocktail bar, and you've got Jigsaw.

This hilarious, fast-paced parody sketch show sends up classic BBC radio shows, travels through time and brings you Shakespeare as you've never heard it before. Tune in to Desert Island Discs with a twist, appreciate an orange-inal version of Hamlet and discover Tolstoy with a peel good factor. A spoof show like no other, The Long Hot Satsuma is a laugh out loud comedy packed with quick-witted lines and the trademark dry humour of veteran comedians Alison Steadman, Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden.

Columnist, critic and award-winning author Craig Brown is well known for his Private Eye parodies lampooning politicians and celebrities. He has written for numerous newspapers, both under his own name and as his alter egos Wallace Arnold and Bel Littlejohn. Collected here are Brown's four fantastic radio series, plus two bonus programmes in which he discusses his life and work.

Wheeler-dealer snooker club owner Geoff Bryant and his wife Jenny have recently moved onto a new estate in Whittleshulme, Cheshire. Described in the brochure as an 'exclusive village development', it's squarely aimed at yuppies, the nouveau-riche and high-fliers. The trouble is, there are no local teenagers to babysit, leaving the residents to juggle careers and kids as best they can. So when local bigwig Julian Percival sets up a babysitting circle, it seems like the ideal solution.

Broadcast live from the Club Akimbo, Bletchley, this is Britain's first public access cable radio show, presented by a group of Buckinghamshire district councillors who really should know better. Chairman of the Ways and Means committee Mr Dutton is our host as he introduces us to the items on the agenda, which include sparkling sketches, surreal escapades and musical interludes from Chilean charmer Enrico Valdez and his Orchestra with Mickey Binelli.

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.

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.

Martin Christmas is a local government worker in the Sanitation department, whose days are shaped by endless recycling initiatives and green league tables, and whose nights are shadowed by his failed relationships and curmudgeonly interior monologues. While Martin is trying to cultivate his inner peace, things keep getting in his way.

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.

How would you start the first week of the rest of your life? When housemates Donna, Johnny, Patrick and Abigail wake up on Saturday morning they are surprised to discover they are the last four people left of Earth. It might be the end of the world, but that won't stop them from enjoying themselves. In this witty comedy drama, follow the four friends as they try to keep calm and carry on doing what they usually do.