Showing results by author "BBC-Comedy" in All Categories

Just a Minute is the grandaddy of panel games, entertaining Radio 4 listeners since 1967 with wit, whimsy and wonderful wordplay. To mark the show's 55th anniversary in December 2022, here are five fantastic series from 2011, 2012 and 2013, all chaired by the legendary Nicholas Parsons. Among them is Series 62, which commemorated JAM's 45th birthday with an episode tackling the same subjects given out in the very first series, and featured two special editions from Mumbai.

Four more extended episodes from the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, specially compiled by producer Jon Naismith. Another collection of episodes from the famous antidote to panel games now in its 18th edition. Jack Dee challenges regular panellists Tim Brooke-Taylor, and Barry Cryer, with a series of silly games against which to pit their wits. In tribute to Jeremy Hardy, a long-running guest panellist on the show who passed away in 2019, he features in every episode.

Hosted by the peerless Sandi Toksvig, these 25 episodes take us through the highlights and lowlights of 2008, a year dominated by the global financial crisis and the US presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain. Scrutinising stories both world-shaking and whimsical are an esteemed panel of comedians, journalists and commentators, among them Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Phill Jupitus, Francis Wheen, Kevin Day, Carrie Quinlan, Mark Steel, Hugo Rifkind, Justin Edwards, Sue Perkins and Robin Ince.

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.

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.

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.

In these 26 episodes, we turn the clock back to 2014 - the year when Scotland said 'no' to independence, Ukrainians ousted their pro-Russia president in the Maidan Revolution, and the European Space Agency's Philae probe made its historic first landing on a comet. Sandi Toksvig is in the chair for every show bar one, in which Susan Calman steps in as temporary host. Subjects on the table for the team include NHS pay, a badger crash, commuter train standards, Russian activities in Crimea, dietary health scares, passport delays and black cab strikes.

After nine years, 28 series and over 220 episodes in the hot seat, Sandi Toksvig stepped down from The News Quiz at the end of Series 87. These two superlative series are her last hurrah - and our last chance to enjoy her unique blend of wit, warmth and intelligence, as she leads the panel in a whimsical review of the headlines. Jeremy Hardy and Susan Calman both take a turn in the chair, but for 12 of these 14 episodes, Sandi is at the helm as they take a wry look at the news in all its larger-than-life glory.

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.

Brian Cox and Robin Ince present a witty, irreverent look at the world according to science. The Infinite Monkey Cage has become one of BBC Radio 4’s most popular science-based programmes. In each episode physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince delve into a particular field of science...

As highly prized as a Ming vase or a Regency sideboard, this fine collection of 14 vintage episodes of BBC Radio 4’s long-running panel show - chaired by Barry Took, Simon Hoggart, Bill Tidy and Sandi Toksvig - is at last available for all to hear. Those in the know will discern a clear patina of sensible, silly and salacious news items from Britain, America and all around the world.

All three series of the award-winning topical panel show from 2025 Andy Zaltzman returns for a triple helping of comic quizzing, as he serves up a satirical smorgasbord of choice news morsels for his esteemed panellists to feast on. Making short work of them are some of the biggest names in...

A headline-crunching celebration of Radio 4’s hugely successful topical comedy quiz show The News Quiz made its debut on Radio 4 in 1977, and four decades later it’s still playfully making and breaking the headlines of our daily news. Among the vintage gems in this collection are 25 Years of...

Twenty-four episodes of the much-loved satirical panel show Since 1977, The News Quiz has entertained the nation with its satirical take on contemporary events. In these three series from 2020, hosts Nish Kumar, Angela Barnes and Andy Zaltzman invite a panel of comedians and journalists to find...

Sue Perkins chairs Radio 4's longest-running panel game in which contestants are challenged to speak on a given topic for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition.

The Now Show is a much-loved stalwart of radio comedy. Featuring some of the best and brightest contemporary comedians, this award-winning show takes a satirical look at the news through a mix of stand-up, songs and sketches, as well as interview segments in which experts in their field explain the facts behind the headlines. In these three series, hosts Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by special guests.

Proving that yesterday's news is every bit as entertaining as today's, these 14 archive episodes of the long-running BBC Radio 4 panel show are chaired by Barry Took, Simon Hoggart and Sandi Toksvig. Spanning the years from 1979 to 2011, this latest selection of sharp and funny editions take in...

24 archive editions of the much-loved BBC Radio 4 panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons Like a treasured piece of furniture, Just a Minute has graced the living rooms and kitchens of radio listeners for more than 50 years. Comfortable, relaxing and easy to sink into, it has long been the seat...

Four hilarious episodes from the cult BBC Radio comedy Step into the world of Radio Prune, described by Barry Took as "a kaleidoscope of funny voices, catch phrases, and innuendo, revolving at breakneck speed and with a complete disregard for logic", the sketch comedy I'm Sorry, I'll Read That...

A finely matured selection of episodes from the long-running topical Radio 4 panel show, chaired by Barry Norman, Barry Took, Simon Hoggart, Sandi Toksvig and Miles Jupp. These 14 archive editions, all published for the first time, span the decades from 1978 to 2017 and recall the headline-grabbing issues, incidents and individuals of yesteryear.