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ROYAL BROOKER

The brilliant Newswipe was rewarded last night at the Royal Television Society awards as Charlie Brooker scooped best entertainment show . Seeing off the likes of X Factor, the satirist can be extremely satisfied at the reward of a show that requires intense amounts of effort, being put together at the last minute to ensure the most amount of pertinence. Newswipe arguably began as a spin-off of Screenwipe, which deconstructed aspects of television, and has culminated in a BBC 4 show that has provided some well-deserved praise for the writer. This award encapsulated a bad night for ITV who only won best entertainment performance for Harry Hill and one for best drama serial for Unforgiven.

Political satire smash hit The Thick Of It won best scripted comedy award, in a positive night for the BBC

The ceremony was hosted by Rob Brydon.

HARRY COMMITS TO ITV

On this blog we reported how the TV funny man Harry Hill was perhaps flirting with the idea of taking his show to Sky. However, the British Comedy Guide have the news that ITV have signed a multi-million pound deal to keep Harry Hill tied to the network. Avalon have ensured that Harry is onboard for both You’ve Been Framed and Harry Hill’s TV Burp for two years, scotching rumours that Sky had captured the star.

We can expect a series of Burp this year and one in 2011.

ENTHUSIASM FOR CURB’S RETURN

A couple of weeks back we broke the news that Larry David had alluded to perhaps bringing his show to the UK. Well, this week, we have stronger reports that the writer and producer is returning for another series (but, alas, no word of Blighty).

The official line from Chortle is that David has said there is a ‘pretty good chance’ of a return for Curb Your Enthusiasm and that he is putting creative efforts to writing an eighth season.

He dropped his hints in front of 2,000 fans at a Q&A event in Beverly Hills in California, where his demeanour was described as ‘icy’, ‘testy’ and ‘frosty’.

BYE BYE BABY

After 15 years as Shooting Stars’ George Dawes, our very own Matt Lucas is having to step down as the giant score-shouting baby. Citing work commitments, namely a BBC script he’s writing with David Walliams, Matt Lucas is said to be very sad. His absence comes after the series when Bob and Vic revived the game show after a 7 year sabbatical. The new series is due to air later this year with Ulrika Jonsson, Jack Dee and Angelos Epithemiou. Eranu!

BASDEN BRINGS THE PARTY TO RADIO 4

Based on the award-winning play from last year's Edinburgh Festival, 'Party' is having a popular run at the Arts Theatre at present. It’s written by Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Tom Basden, who also appears in Cowards.  The theme of this bright and astute satire is politics.

Four political-wannabes (Tom Basden, Jonny Sweet, Anna Crilly, Katy Wix) have decided to form a new political party from the comfort of a garden shed. They have lots of ideas and morals, but many conflict and contradict. The fifth member, Duncan, played by Tim Key, doesn’t get the absurdity of it all, and just wants some cake for the ‘party’ he thought he had been invited to.

Basden comments on the fickleness and flakiness of our senior politicians, using the adolescent gathering that adorns the well conceived set. ‘Party’ is about global issues being discussed by naive minds, who take more pride and attention to preserve their own conceptions of the new party’s name and leadership.

The play has now made the leap to radio 4, the first episode of which can be heard TONIGHT at 18:30.

If you haven’t seen it yet, then you can buy tickets here. Alternatively, if you haven’t noticed, FoD have launched a competition on Twitter to win a pair of tickets for the play. There are 2 pairs up for grabs for Saturday, 7:30 pm at the Arts Theatre. Check the hashtag  #politicalfilms on twitter to find out more!

CURB UK?

If you’re a fan of Larry David’s ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’, you may be buoyed by the news that the prolific writer has flirted with the idea of bringing his awkward series to Britain. ‘I love the English people’, said David at a recent Writers Guild of America awards. Claiming his lifetime achievement award, he confirmed that he liked the idea of shooting episodes across the pond. Undoubtedly this would be a welcome addition to our schedules.

WE NEED NO MORE WOMEN

As the fantastic game show 'We Need Answers' comes to an end, so does the spin-off game from the brilliant trio of Tim Key, Mark Watson and Ale Horne. ‘No More Women,’ involves pitting 2 opponents together in a battle to name famous people, whilst eliminating ‘categories’ that can be used in the future. The three comedians showcased the last, gripping outing here on BBC comedy.  Watson, Key and Horne originally ran ‘We Need Answers’ as a knockout quiz at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe, but have come up against recent fears that the BBC do not plan to re-commission it. Catch the latest one on iplayer, and see what you think.

SKINNER RETURNS

Comedy Central brings the news that Frank Skinner is to return to the BBC with a new show where he takes a unique look at the news. ‘Frank Skinner’s Opinionated’ shows a return to the corporation after an unpleasant break from the Beeb in 1999. Last seen on David Mitchell’s ‘The Bubble’, Skinner will take his new show around the country and feature guest comedians and the Great British public.

Latest videos from us: Graham Linehan in 'Pardon Me Revisited'

                                             Doritos Flashmob

Keep sending in your Breaking News headlines, and of course - continue your comments to win the Armstrong and Miller DVD over on facebook.

GOOD NEWS FOR RUSSELL

For fans of the stand-up and now tongue-in-cheek news satirist Russell Howard, we bring the good news that his show, ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’ has been given a third series. This is even before anyone’s had a chance to see the second outing, which appears next month. The show, aimed at a young BBC3 audience, was the most requested thing on iplayer last year. To join in a competition to win a Russell Howard DVD, head on over to our Facebook fan page. Not a fan? You ruddy well should be.

BBC BURSTS THE BUBBLE

Relaying news that highlights the suppression and paranoia around certain comedy is something we often do. ‘Bubble’, David Mitchell’s new project, seems to be another example of this. The show relies on depriving media figures of exposure to the news, and then showing them a mixture of real, and then fabricated news stories. They must decide which is which. However, the BBC have reacted strongly and denied the right for their journalists to take part in providing material. They are worried about being branded with allegations of fakery. Well duhhh...that’s the point. Our office neighbours here at Funny Or Die are producing the show, which airs on Friday at 9pm on BBC 2.

ONLINE COMEDY FIX

When you’re not getting your laughs from the likes of Funny Or Die, there’s the likes of SeeSaw, which launched recently online. Once an On-Demand service, the new internet source has lots of comedy for your delectation. Clearly, you might just think to watch your favourite programmes on iPlayer or 4OD but Seesaw does not have a time limit in which you must watch items, and has a nicely building bank of stuff. There’s plenty of channel 4 goodies, but offerings from the BBC include ‘Bottom’, ‘The Young Ones’, ‘Dead Ringers’, ‘Saxondale’, ‘Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle’, and ‘The League of Gentlemen’. All juicy prospects, I’m sure you’ll agree. It’s got a nice interface, and you can catch all the fun here.

COMEDY VEHICLE ROLLS BACK INTO TOWN

Praise be! Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle is to be made into a second series. The programme takes the form of an authentic stand-up set, interspersed with clips. In his own unique, droll manner Leee dealt with topics such as religion and books. Here’s a clip with producer Armando Iannucci which featured on the red button in the first series . The news was announced on Twitter with Iannucci saying, ‘There'll be a 2nd series of Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle. Huzzah! Huzzah!'

PARTRIDGE BACK?

To more rumours on the twittersphere then, and we have murmurings of an Alan Partridge movie. Again, Iannucci has been the source of some information, but was typically unhelpful the other day with the tweet-post ‘Partridge chances slim; me, P Baynham and Steve C had a 3-way fist fight. James Cordon tried to separate us but only made matters worse.’   

However, Chortle reports that Coogan expects a decision over a film will be made this month, and would love to go ahead with it if the right people were involved. There could be some truth to Iannucci’s tweet as he is known to find writing with Steve’s character Alan Partridge very trying, ‘I have to say that if I have to write three or four months with him, you do want to throw a brick at him’.

...and finally...

SERAFINOWICZ

This was also the week that saw Peter Serafinowicz reveal that his sketch show had rocketed past a million DVD sales. Catch his video here.  Amazingly, Peter also tells that The Peter Serafinowicz Show has now reached the 3 million mark – which is a figure that beats the likes of Mamma Mia. The comedian and writer has been doing a twitter campaign where followers can get their hands on a signed copy of the DVD. Get involved on Twitter with #psdvd

IANNUCCI AT THE OSCARS

Heard first on twitter, the news that Iannucci and his team were to be in the running for an Oscar surprised everyone. Most of all, Iannucci expressed his shock, taking leave of his usual pithy posts to say, “Bloomin heck. In The Loop nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. Bonk me purple.” To gain best adapted screenplay they must beat the likes of District 9 Fantastic Mr Fox, and Precious. Although Jesse Armstrong, Iannucci and co. wouldn’t like to admit it, we say they’ve got half a chance of scooping the award, especially considering they gained this accolade at the New York Film Critics Circle awards and British Independent Film awards. Watch this space and see what Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have to say on March 7^th.

In other Iannucci related news, the rumour that there will be an election night Thick of It special has been scotched. Damn.

ROSS RETURNS?

He’s becoming somewhat of a fixture in this corner of FoD, and here he is again. Jonathan Ross is being talked about again, this time because it is rumoured he is set to return to Channel 4. Comedy Central reports on how Julian Bellamy, head of programming for the channel, has spoken to the Independent, confirming he is a ‘huge fan’. We’ll have to see how this develops...whatever happens; we suspect he’ll be keeping well away from answer machines.

BRAND IS BACK

 Chortle has the news that Jo Brand’s dark, moving and downright hilarious ‘Getting On’ is being re-commissioned. Last year it benefitted from the acting of ‘The Thick Of It’ stars Peter Capaldi and Joanna Scanlan, as well as a sterling performance from Brand herself. The half hour show took a realistic and sometimes uncomfortable look at life on an NHS ward, with a fantastic script and utterly believable characters. We can’t wait for this one, especially as it’s set to run for 6 episodes as opposed to the previous 3. Take heed of the Guardian’s words and look out for it: ‘Who would have thought a sitcom set in an NHS ward could be so tragic, moving and hilarious? We want more.’