Bill Bailey: ‘Keep saying funny things – that’s quite profound advice’

The standup on the wisest words ever given to him, his pre-show rituals and how he discovered his vocation at an anarchist vegetarian communeHow did you get into comedy?I grew up in the West Country and there wasn’t much of a comedy scene at the time. …

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Ricky Gervais on offence, anger and infuriating Hollywood: ‘You have to provoke. It’s a good thing’

He has made a career out of winding people up in everything from The Office to his Golden Globes speeches – but is the comedian’s bark worse than his bite?Ricky Gervais’s assistant leads me past a huge, empty room to the top floor of an office above a …

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Chris Rock: Total Blackout review – confessional comic cuts loose

Netflix The standup is back with an extended version of his 2018 special Tamborine that better captures the spirit of a live gigWhat persistent itch, I wonder, persuaded Chris Rock to revisit his 2018 special Tamborine, re-edit it, and release an exten…

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Bake Off Extra’s Tom Allen: ‘I wanted to be an actor – but it turned out I was just gay’

As he publishes a moving memoir, the comedian and Bake Off contestant tormentor talks about homophobic heckles, still living with his parents – and why he’s never been in loveIn a deserted office overlooking the Thames, Tom Allen is admiring the view. …

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Imagine all the standups: Gal Gadot video mocked by comics

Actor’s earnest re-creation of John Lennon classic draws satirical response from all-star lineup of comics fronted by Joe Lycett In times of crisis a celebrity viral video can unite us either through joy or ridicule. Judi Dench’s cheery message to keep…

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The Chase’s Paul Sinha: ‘I’m going for laughs in bleak places’

The gameshow star and former GP on how he wrote his ‘career best’ standup material after getting married – and being diagnosed with Parkinson’s‘You don’t expect the most eventful year of your life to be in your late 40s,” says Paul Sinha. “No one expec…

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Maisie Adam review – hokey philosophy with a sucker punch

Cambridge JunctionThe Yorkshire comic’s endearing set about mistakes made in public roars into life with a final, extraordinary revealWho among us, deciding instantly on a course of action, has never made the wrong call? Maisie Adam’s stage is decorate…

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All hail Tina Fey: the funniest comic of the 21st century

From skewering Sarah Palin to handing us Liz Lemon on 30 Rock, here are 10 of the SNL legend’s most hilarious moments The 50 best comediansA nice girl with an anarchic bent and a tongue as sharp as a boning knife, Tina Fey has dominated sketch comedy (…

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Richard Blackwood: ‘I was in a bubble, thinking I had the Midas touch’

Comedian, TV presenter, pop star … the ‘British Will Smith’ was geared for Hollywood stardom until his life came crashing down. Now, in a powerful play about death in custody, he’s making a fresh bid for stardom ‘People are going to come to the show th…

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‘I should have died in 1992’: Craig Ferguson’s comedy comeback

He quit booze and Scotland – and became a chat show sensation in the US. As he returns to standup on his home turf, we rescue him from selfie-takers on the streets of GlasgowOn the morning we meet, Glasgow seems especially delighted to have Craig Fergu…

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