BBC Comedy Blog

Catch up with Gavin & Stacey

David Thair — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:33:00 +0000

The wait is nearly over. This November, Gavin & Stacey returns for a whole new series on BBC One!

Here's a short and tidy catch-up to remind you of the story so far:

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So, what can you expect from the new series? Most significantly, Gavin starts a new job in Cardiff. Yes - that Cardiff. Near Barry. In Wales. And, for the first time, the sun comes out on the happy families, which means they all get to go down the beach. It's also likely to be the final series of the show.

Here's Rob Brydon, who plays Uncle Bryn, with more:

The third series of Gavin & Stacey is back on BBC One. Hurrah! Tell us about it. What's new?

Nessa and Dave are living in Dave's caravan; Gavin's working in Cardiff and Bryn's delighted.

It must be nice having Gavin and Stacey living back in Barry. Uncle Bryn seems to have quite a soft spot for Gavin...

I think he's thrilled to have Gavin living across the road.

How do you feel about this series being the last ever one? Was it more exciting or emotional to film?

It was lovely to see everyone again. We were filming in the summer, which was unusual for us; we usually shoot up to Christmas so it was a different atmosphere in as much as the weather was nice. I felt a little sad, though, knowing that this was the last series.

Who will you miss working with the most?

I suppose I'd have to say Ruth, we've known each other for years and it's been lovely working so closely with her on the show and the spin-offs like the record for Comic Relief.

In one of the episodes we hear Bryn joins Gavin and Smithy for a lad's night out. Can you tell us about it?

Bryn goes out into Cardiff with the boys and tries to keep up with their pace. It doesn't go quite to plan.

Must have been fun having all the boys stay over?

Yes it must...

What is your favourite bit from the new series?

I haven't seen it but I loved Dawn and Pete renewing their vows.

We loved loved loved Uncle Bryn's version of the James Blunt classic. Any plans to sing in this series?

Maybe. Be sure to watch the first episode!

What would you like to think Uncle Bryn is doing in 10 years' time?

The same as he's doing now, but slower.

Now Gavin & Stacey is finished, what's next?

I'm on tour.

Please put us all out of our misery. Do we find out what happens on that fishing trip?

Your misery shall continue...

Rob Brydon was speaking to the BBC Press Office.

Get ready for Miranda

Miranda Hart — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +0000

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So here we are. It's show time. Episode One tonight.

Episode One was the pilot episode we recorded early 2008, although there have been a few changes since then. The main one was casting Patricia Hodge as Penny, my mother. I was thrilled she said yes. A little nervous too. She predominantly plays high status parts and I imagined she might be a little aloof and well, scary. Not at all thankfully.

Obviously the show is filmed in a studio in front of a live audience, but there are the odd bits that have to be filmed on location. Our first day on location we did the Episode One scenes. And that involved, as you will see tonight, the mother character fainting outside a shop in a busy high street. So on the first day's filming, it was "hello Patricia, lovely to meet you, thanks for doing this, now we just need you to faint on to this grubby Hounslow pavement - ok, action...".

I was amused to see someone sweeping the pavement before she had to lie on it. I thought, that's nice, I do lots of falling over in this show, perhaps that will be a precedent. Let me tell you - I have yet to be swept for. I am still waiting.

Hope you enjoy the show tonight. I can't believe it's going out (this has been years in the coming). My career either takes off or comes to a said end tonight...!

I want it to take off, principally so someone can sweep before I fall. I am gunning for a sweeping (not a euphemism).

Miranda (the sitcom) starts tonight at 8.30pm on BBC Two. Read more from Miranda (the lady) before each episode here on the Comedy Blog.

Security announcement

Axel Peters — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:23:00 +0000

Hi I'm Axel Peters, I'm creative director here at Chaos Laboratories. We're a forward-thinking company. We work at the cutting edge of the bio-tech revolution. We're developing stuff right here, right now, that you guys may not see for 20 or 30 years - unless it climbs out of a window!

Which brings me to the main reason I'm writing these words. Yesterday, something Dave was working on, may or may not have crawled off a lab desk, opened a heavy door, made it's way past our state of the art security system and out into the fields at the back. Now whoa! I'm not saying there's any danger as a direct result of this, no way! in fact it might not have even got out at all.

There's a chance it could well still be in the building somewhere - and when I say "it", "it" is a kind of red thing with thin legs and a beak - hard to explain but you'll know it when you see it, which hopefully you won't - so probably no worries on that score.

Steve on the front desk reckons he might have seen it round the back of the car park, but it could've been a chicken with a coat on, or a fox. Anyway I don't think we should panic about this as we've like 'misplaced' stuff in the past, and most of the time this shit is so biologically unstable the internal organs pack in after a few hours and all you've got left is a pile of mush which our expert retrieval team just hoover up and fling in a bin. Hey that's bio-genetic science, right?! You cant win 'em all. So ah yeah, try and ignore it, it's probably nothing...

Okay.

Great talking to you guys!

Also I'd like to take this opportunity to re-assure our shareholders that this shouldn't affect the end of year dividend stuff or the reputation of the company.

Great!

Hello from Miranda

Miranda Hart — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:03:00 +0000

Well, hello to you. Welcome to my first entry for the blog, a word that will always faintly amuse.

Blog.

So, on Monday, my show will leave the womb of the edit suite and head on to BBC Two to be judged by the world. I have to call it 'my show' rather than its title Miranda because that feels very weird, being my name n' all. In meetings I have to ask people to call it "the sitcom" otherwise I hear "the thing about Miranda is...", or "when does Miranda finish?". And being in the office hearing people answer the phone "hello Miranda" will always be odd.

It was the producer's idea to call it Miranda, and ultimately I agreed it was right for the show, but it has an unnerving American over-confidence about it, which is not me. And talk about set yourself up for a potential fall! However, I am surprisingly calm about it going out. Whatever will be will be - if people find it and take it to their hearts then wonderful, but I am not expecting anything.

The pleasure, excitement, joy, plus inevitable dollop (another good word) of stress and fear, was making the show, and over the next few weeks I will blog little exclusives to you, my internet lovelies. I might reveal the answer to the question I get asked most ("which bits are auto-biographical?") and I will freely tell you secrets about my cast Patricia Hodge, Sally Phillips, Sarah Hadland, and Tom Ellis. They'll never know!

Till next week. Have a good one.

Miranda (the lady) will be back on the blog next week. Miranda (the sitcom) starts at 8.30pm on BBC Two this Monday. Watch a preview clip from the first episode on Comedy Extra.

"You can either laugh or soil yourself" - Miles Jupp on being in The Thick of It

David Thair — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:30:00 +0000

When it comes to contrasts, few shows can be quite so... contrasty as Balamory and The Thick of It.

Yet Miles Jupp has made his mark on both - as inventor Archie in Balamory (right) and incompetent press officer John Duggan in this Saturday's episode of The Thick of It (above). Quite an achievement.

The actor, comedian and presenter, this year could also be found in Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, and presented Newsjack on Radio 7. But what happened when he was given the chance to come face-to-face Malcolm?

Miles Jupp writes...

I got called in for my audition on the day that I'd arranged to see In The Loop. That made it hard to relax whilst watching the film because all I could think was "If what I did this morning was what they want, then I'll get to work with these people". I ended up eating a lot of Revels. My second audition was two days after my son had been born and, as we'd had a home birth, the first occasion I'd left the house since. I was running on adrenaline, a first for me, and just gabbled at Armando. We did one improvised chat, at the end of which he said "sorry this is a bit weird" and I said "I've just had a baby". I don't remember the journey home. When I found out I'd got the part I was drunk, and at Lord's. That's how it should be.

Rehearsals were frantic and yet relaxed. You read the script together once, have a walk through the scene, and then you're told to put the script away and have another go. It's extraordinary. If Peter Capaldi is shaking you by the lapels whilst shouting improvised personal abuse so loudly that your vision is blurring, you can either laugh or soil yourself. Never both. Acting is all about making choices.

The episode I'm in was filmed at a Holiday Inn on a roundabout by Elstree. Although the hotel hadn't been closed for us we seemed to have the place all to ourselves. Sometimes just doing a few days on a project that everybody else is doing a long stint on can be very lonely. Not with this lot - they were great fun, and very welcoming. James Smith, who plays Glenn Cullen, made sure that I was introduced to every crew member before my first shot which was very decent behaviour indeed. Then we were off: acting, changing outfits, improvising, line learning, nodding, gossiping and eating lunch. We shot 60 pages of script, plus piles of additional made-up stuff: three days spent on the verge of, and sometimes over the brink of, hysteria. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

You won't have to wait long to see Miles in The Thick of It as you can watch him in action this Saturday at 10.15pm on BBC Two.

Bonus material: Out of The Thick of It

David Thair — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:40:00 +0000

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How much time has Nicola Murray wasted walking up and down the stairs? Just what is going on between Glen and Robyn? And what exactly are journalists for? Find out as DoSAC's civil servants shoot the crud during their lunch break in Out of The Thick of It - exclusive to Red Button (press yours directly after the show) and Comedy Extra.

Read more about The Thick of It

Catch up with the latest episode on iPlayer

Free tickets - Miranda Hart Writersroom Q & A

David Thair — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:51:19 +0000

Miranda Hart's new sitcom, Miranda, starts on BBC Two on Monday 9th of November.

Miranda wrote the semi-autobiographical show herself, and also writes all her own stand-up and solo comedy material.

On Tuesday 10th November, Miranda will be chatting to Kate Rowland about her work at the Soho Theatre in London. If you'd like to attend and ask questions about writing and performing comedy, good news! Tickets are free. Pop over to the Writersroom website for more information.

And, Miranda fans, keep an eye out for more news from Miranda herself, here on the Comedy Blog next week.

New membership system next week

David Thair — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Hey! You there! Yes, you! Do I have your attention? Good.

Early next week, there will be a change to how you can leave comments on the Comedy Blog - and indeed other BBC blogs. We're upgrading our current membership system (see right) to a new and improved one.

Don't worry - you'll be able to keep your existing account, but you will be prompted to upgrade it to the new system when you sign in. It's very quick and easy.

One important thing to note: if you have more than one BBC membership registered to a single email address, make sure you upgrade your favourite one. This is because only one of the accounts can be associated with a particular email address. More details on this can be found on the BBC Internet Blog.

Let us know in the comments below if you have any problems, or in the unlikely event it's gone so terrifyingly wrong you can't even do that, email us via comedyblog [at] bbc.co.uk.

Joe Tracini's Coming of Age Diary #5

Joe Tracini — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:45:00 +0000

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One of Joe's sketches for Comedy Extra

Hello all! So, it is my sad duty to tell you that filming of Coming of Age series two has come to an end. We had highs and lows, laughter and tears, singing and dancing, sexual innuendo and just plain dirty talking. Twas a wonderful few months. Some good news coming at you though, it will be on your screens early 2010, WOOHOO! Make sure you all watch and tell your friends.
The series came on so much this year, I'm damn sure you're going to love it. And if you don't, Family Guy will be on afterwards so you might as well watch it till the end, giggidy giggidy, giggidy goo.

Series One has been going out every Monday at 10.30, after EastEnders on BBC Three, and the final episode was on last night. No need to fret if you've missed it, because it'll be available to watch for a week on iPlayer - and it's also out on DVD, WOOHOO again. The perfect Christmas gift for your mum, dad, auntie, uncle, nan, granddad. OK, maybe not nan and granddad, but some old people like a bit of rumpy pumpy now and again, so why not take a risk!

The lovely people at the BBC have asked me to keep writing this now and again, so as soon as I hear any news or interesting information, I'll throw it on to you.

Also, for anybody that's interested (so...you!), I've filmed some sketches for the BBC's Comedy Extra site, so take a look. They're mildly amusing, I'm sure you'll agree, and there are more to come, so keep your eyes open....

I'm also playing Buttons in Cinderella at the Hawth Theatre in Crawley this Christmas. Julian Clary's in it too, and he's been being funny a lot longer than I have, and is better than me in oh-so-many ways. So if you fancy coming down, that would be marvellous, we could have a cuddle and maybe a biscuit.

Take care you lot, speak to you soon!!!

Joe Tracini plays DK in the BBC Three sitcom Coming of Age. Read the rest of his diary here on the Comedy Blog.

Rebecca Front on being in The Thick of It

David Thair — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:55:00 +0000

Throughout its run, the The Thick of It team will be sharing their experience of show here on the BBC Comedy Blog. Last week the Producer Adam Tandy gave a handy overview of the story so far, and this week we're delighted to hear from new star Rebecca Front.

The last time we heard from Rebecca, it had just been announced that she was joining the Thick of It team as the new Minister for Social Affairs, Nicola Murray MP. Thankfully she lived through the process and survived to tell us how she found the experience:

Rebecca writes....

First day of filming and I felt pretty relaxed. I knew my lines, and just went for it. At the end of my part in the scene, with Chris, James and Joanna still performing, I walked off the set and round to the area where Armando was watching the monitors. "Oh look," I remember thinking," He's watching The Thick of It." And that's when my knees went a bit weak.

The point is that the show is as much about the camera work and direction and sound quality as it is about scripts and acting. There's an unmistakable house-style, which is in no small measure created by the extraordinary work of Jamie Cairney and his team of guerilla camera operators. They nip in and out of rooms, hide in corners and frequently run full pelt to catch a particular moment. It's impressive to behold, and what makes it more impressive is that you frequently don't behold it. They seem to be invisible. Like Jeeves, they shimmer in and out of rooms, only very occasionally crashing into a filing cabinet.

The upshot of this is that when you're doing a scene, you really feel as though you and the other actors are alone in the room. This meant that scenes, particularly with Peter Capaldi, had an intensity that I hadn't expected. I never quite knew where emotionally we would end up.This is what acting should be like; it's as close as TV ever gets to live theatre, because Armando never allows the mechanics of making a programme to get in the way. And all of that informs what you see on screen. The pace of the jokes, the pressure of the situations all stem from that sense that Armando and the crew create of this being real and now and ghastly and funny and true.

The Thick of It is on Saturdays at 10.10pm on BBC Two.

Out of The Thick of It

Did you know you can get Out of The Thick of It by pressing the red button directly after each show? You can! If you don't have a red button (and whether you do or not really isn't any of our business), don't worry - here's Saturday's bonus content:

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The Thick of It Series Three: Preview

David Thair — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:45:00 +0000

It's very nearly here. The new series of The Thick of It starts tomorrow night, and we're very excited to bring you this special preview:

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Read more about the new series on Comedy Extra and this Programme Page. If you're new to the show and that all left you a bit bewildered, our potted history by Producer Adam Tandy should sort you out.

Armando Iannucci on Radio 4's Profile

Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci will be the subject of Profile tomorrow night at 7pm on Radio 4. The programme will include interviews with Armando's collaborators including Rebecca Front (who of course stars in the new series of The Thick of It), Steve Coogan, David Schneider, Adam Tandy and... his English teacher, Ronnie Renton.

You can also subscribe to the Profile podcast.

Keep an eye on this blog next week when we hope to bring you extended interviews with some of the contributors above.

Home Time: Peace out. Laterz. Be safe.

David Thair — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Home Time's Emmer Fryer writes...

Hello. It's my last chance to write one of these, so I'm really going to give it some.

In Episode Six, the threat of an Official School Reunion looms. Whether Gaynor attends or not, the fact that it's happening is enough to impact - it's one of those milestone, take-stock-of-your-life-type events. Like realising you no longer qualify for Club 18-30.

I've never been to a proper reunion and I'm not too sure I'd be very good at them. It'd be brilliant to catch up with the lovely people (of which there were many) and reminisce over stuff that no-one else would ever understand or really laugh at - unless they were very polite or hard of hearing and trying to cover it.

My worry is that I'd sense a creeping need to redress a couple of teenage comments that left my then-permed-head spinning with thoughts of "why didn't you just say (such and such) you knobhead". A while ago I met a woman by chance, who'd made me cry for weeks into my Forever Friends pillowcase. Instead of firing back the witty retorts I'd built up over a decade, I just panicked. My mouth made an involuntary fart noise and I enquired about her kids.

It's been a funny old time of late. People have said when your first project is shown it's like giving your baby away. I've not had a baby (nor given one away) so I can't rightly say, but I think (sticking with the emerging theme of this entry) it could be likened more to sending your child off on their first day of school.

I was worried it'd never fit in. It was the awkward sort, with duff clothes and a face that seemed to be begging for a kicking. Luckily, there were some really nice people at school who sat next to it at the lunch table. Thank you.

Now we're really at the end of the process. It felt like the end when we finished filming but then we had the edit. After the edit, it was the wait for it to be shown. Now it really is finished. To mark the occasion I got the large Salt 'n' Shake Crisps cardboard box that's accompanied me on all my house moves since the late nineties and packed everything away.

It's had a variety of contents over the years and has been labelled 'bedding', 'kitchen bits' and 'food to use quick' (those were dark days). I crossed out 'boho knitwear' and wrote 'Home Time'. I packed away script drafts, sketches, a series of rude doodles from the crew, rough cut DVDs, my kangol hat and the piece of paper that said 'Gaynor' from my caravan door. Maybe one day I'll have awkward, duffly-clad grandkids to show it to. Not the doodles though, they really are foul.

If you've watched and liked the series, thank you ever so much - it means an awful lot.

Read more from Emma and co-writer Neil Edmond on the Comedy Blog

Watch the last episode of this series of Home Time tonight at 9.30pm on BBC Two and catch-up with previous episodes on iPlayer.

Good News everyone!

David Thair — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Russell Howard's Good News - possibly Professor Farnsworth's favourite new show - starts tonight at 10.30pm on BBC Three. Here's Russell with more:

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Pop over to the Good News Blog to join in the fun and share your good news with the team.

Funny Women Awards - Highlights of the Night

Lucy McDermott — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Remember we went to the Funny Women Awards in London? Well, we've got something to show you!

Here is the highly anticipated highlights video from that night, which was compered by Jan Ravens:

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Bet you wanna see the winning set now, don't you?! Well, we've got that for you too!

Miss London - aka Dionne Hughes - won a tidy prize for this set, and well deserved. However, sunning herself on a beach in Cyprus will have to wait a while, as she's just been cast in Big Babies, a BBC Comedy Production for CBBC. Here she is in action:

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Funny Women is continuing to showcase female comics at the Leicester Square Theatre in London on the second Sunday of the month: 8th November and 13th December 2009.

Also featured have been fantastic sketch group LadyGarden, who are currently developing material with the BBC Comedy Department.

The Thick of It: New viewers start here

David Thair — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Glen Cullen, Terri Coverley, new appointment Nicola Murray MP, Malcolm Tucker and Oliver Reeder

The Thick of It is back - for a glorious eight episodes starting this Saturday at 10.10pm on BBC Two - with extra fun on the Red Button straight after.

The show began life on BBC Four, so it might be new to some viewers on BBC Two. In that spirit, here's an overview for anyone who might be feeling a bit left out:

Thick of It Producer Adam Tandy writes...

Don't be confused by all the panicking politicians in The Thick Of It on BBC Two this weekend. If you're wondering how they all got in that state, it's all very simple.

The old Department of Social Affairs was set up by the old PM and was used as a dumping ground for all the bits of government that everyone else didn't want to touch, let alone deal with. Then they put Cliff Lawton MP in charge, and made it a Cabinet job as a kind of poisoned carrot.

Even the Civil Servants there are not that hot - look at Communications Director Terri Coverley, head-hunted from the retail sector at great expense but probably to the great relief of her former colleagues at Waitrose. Her press officers are just as rubbish - Robyn Murdoch particularly. Robyn's let more cats out of hats than Dr Suess, according to Terri.

Cliff lasted 18 months before the PM sacked him for attracting too much press attention, by sending his own spin-doctor (Director of Communications) Malcolm Tucker round to extract a resignation.

Cliff's replacement as Secretary of State, Hugh Abbot MP, has lasted a bit longer.
He's even managed to pick up another sizeable disaster area to add to his portfolio, the Department of Citizenship run by the gaffe-prone Ben Swain MP. And thus DoSAC was born.

Hugh's had a couple of right-hand men to keep him out of trouble: Glenn Cullen, an old pal going back years, and bright young thing Oliver Reeder, as wonk-y as they come but good at coming up with policy on the hoof. Olly and Glenn aren't civil servants, but political appointees called Special Advisors (SpAds). If the Secretary of State goes, they go with him.

Hugh Abbot has even managed to survive a change of Prime Minister by carefully staying on holiday while the old PM was forced out by leader of the Nutter tendency, Tom Davies MP, despite the rumours about Tom's debilitating bouts of depression. Ben Swain gained politically, and Malcolm Tucker only managed to hang on to his job with a bit of nifty footwork and stabbing some ex-colleagues in the back.

Olly Reeder, encouraged by Malcolm, has started an up-and-down relationship with Emma Messinger, posh totty working for the Opposition. Emma has prior experience of Social Affairs policy so she was the obvious choice when the Opposition's PR guru Stewart Pearson assigned her to Peter Mannion MP, the shadow minister for Social Affairs and Citizenship. Peter's an old war-horse of a politician: he's even been a junior minister at DEFRA in the dim and distant past.

PM Tom Davies has finally got round to his first major reshuffle, and so probably the last before the election. Frankly, anything could happen.

Look out for more from a member of the Thick of It team each week here on the Comedy Blog.

Further into The Thick of It

Get even better prepared for Saturday...

Read our interview with Rebecca Front (Nicola Murry MP)
Watch the Thick of It special, The Rise of The Nutters, on iPlayer
Enjoy our web exclusive video for Peter Capaldi and Jo Scanlan's show Getting On