Comedy of the Week

BBC Radio 4
  • 3.5 (2)
  • COMEDY
  • EVERY TWO WEEKS
Comedy of the Week

Brighten your week with the latest BBC Radio 4 comedy.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    What? Seriously??

    In this episode, Dara and Isy are joined by the astronaut Helen Sharman to learn about how humans learned to survive in space - with some diverting conversations about glitter, cat statues, hibernation, and shell suits. What? Seriously?? is a new podcast which combines comedy with quirky history, hosted by Dara Ó Briain and Isy Suttie, who will unravel an extraordinary real-life tale each week with the help of a celebrity guest Dara and Isy unearth stories that are definitely true, but also kind of unbelievable at the same time - the sort of stories that make you go ‘What? Seriously??’ when you hear them, but you resolve to tell them in the pub the first chance you get. The twist is that Dara and Isy have absolutely no idea how these strange-but-true tales will unfold and we’ll all be trying to figure it out together – or Dara and Isy will just go off on funny flights of fancy that are tangentially related to the story. They will be drip-fed the nuggets of narrative by a special guest expert who might just know something about the subject. Across the series they will be joined by I’m A Celeb winner Georgia Toffolo, the Aussie comedian Rhys Nicholson, the broadcaster Stuart Maconie, Master Chef star Louisa Ellis, Miles from The Traitors, the comedian Richard Herring, the astronaut Helen Sharman, and Slow Horses star Chris Chung. ‘What? Seriously??’ with Dara Ó Briain and Isy Suttie and special guest Helen Sharman. Format co-developed by Dan Page. Story compiled by Gareth Edwards and Dan Page. Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Jon Holmes An unusual production for BBC Radio 4

    29 min

  2. 6 JAN

    Ahir Shah's Seven Blunders of the World

    Inspired by an email from his 74 year-old father, comedian Ahir Shah introduces us to the The Seven Blunders of the World. In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi published an article in the journal Young India, outlining what he called the Seven Social Sins. They were wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, religion without sacrifice, and politics without principle. One hundred years on, the world is a very different place (this was written on a computer, for crying out loud!). Yet, Ahir reckons Gandhi's century-old list of the great societal blunders still feels relevant today. Could they teach us anything going forward? Join Ahir (and sometimes his dad, who started this whole thing), as he explores these seven blunders through his trademark combination of philosophical inquiry, political vigour and sweet gags. Created and Performed by Ahir Shah Additional Material by Glenn Moore Cast: Vikram Shah and Meera Syal Producers: Daisy Knight and Jules Lom An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min

  3. 30/12/2024

    Hennikay

    Bill Bailey stars as Guy Starling, a middle aged man who, after 45 years, and for reasons quite unknown to him, is suddenly revisited by his imaginary childhood friend, Hennikay. When Guy’s great business idea – developing a phone-based app designed to stop people using phone based apps – unsurprisingly fails, he needs to find a job. And so he attends a sales seminar with Shining Path, who are apparently, "the number one providers of after-life finance packages in the UK". However, his attention is constantly derailed by the constant chatter of Hennikay, his imaginary childhood friend, who is still determinedly living in his head. And if that wasn’t enough, he also has to cope with Tony, his old boss, who is also there, competing with him to land a job. But try as he might, Guy really can’t get enthused by the idea of a career selling pre-paid funeral plans to the people of Maidstone. Was this what he thought his life was going to be, when he and Hennikay were young together, way back in 1976? Acclaimed comedian - and Strictly Come Dancing champion - Bill Bailey leads a series cast which includes Tony Gardner and Elizabeth Carling in this warm, funny look at childhood, adulthood and some of the follies of modern life, where a man with a confused child in his head might just be the sanest person in the room. Written by David Spicer Guy: Bill Bailey Hennikay: Max Lester Tony: Tony Gardner Stacia: Rebecca Boey Producer: Liz Anstee A CPL production for BBC Radio 4

    27 min
  4. One Person Found This Helpful: Christmas Special

    23/12/2024

    One Person Found This Helpful: Christmas Special

    In this Christmas special, Frank Skinner and his guests decipher the good, the bad, and the baffling, as they try to work out a mystery item - based entirely on its online reviews. Which traditional panto features an animatronic dinosaur? What’s the worst present they’ve ever received? And is that one star write-up “bit claggy, made me feel sick” a review of some stuffing or Love Actually? Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer and Peter Tellouche Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans, with the producer David Tyler A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4

    29 min

  5. 16/12/2024

    Sarah Mills' Bad Bod Squad

    Sarah Mills' comedy guide to dealing with a fallible and embarrassing body. Since losing part of her bowel, comedian Sarah Mills has used a stoma bag. She might tell you that having a bag attached to her belly to collect her poo has made her unembarrassable - but the truth is she has always been completely shameless. Now, with the assistance of her outrageously candid celebrity guests, she wants to smash the taboos around bodily malfunctions and help us all banish bodily embarrassment for good. Recorded in her home town of Stevenage, in this this week’s episode, Leaky, Sarah explores bodily spills with comedian and writer Ola Labib. Created and written by Sarah Mills Starring Sarah Mills with special guest Ola Labib Recording Engineer and Editor: Jerry Peal Recording Assistant: Guy Thomas Script Editor: Zoe Tomalin Associate Producer: Antonia Gospel Executive Producer: Alan Nixon Production Manager: Co- Producers: Gordon Kennedy and Sarah Mills Recording in front of a live audience at Stevenage Lytton Players Theatre An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4 Additional information on issues in this episode: https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-incontinence/

    15 min

  6. 09/12/2024

    Wing It

    "No Script. No Prep. No Clue." Alasdair Beckett-King plays host to a panel of improv comedy all stars in this new spontaneous series, full of ridiculous challenges & completely made up games. Presented by Alasdair Beckett-King. Starring Cariad Lloyd, Steen Raskopoulos, Alexander Jeremy, and Emma Sidi. Devised by Shoot From The Hip Producer: Sam Holmes Executive Producer: James Robinson Production Co-ordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries Sound Editor: Joe Bayley A BBC Studios Audio Production

    28 min

  7. 02/12/2024

    Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz

    Paul celebrates his 50th stand-up show for Radio 4 with questions about anniversaries, 2011 (the year of his first show on the network), and his home borough of Croydon. In return, his audience tests his knowledge of tax years, anagrams, and the Crystal Palace. Written and performed by Paul Sinha Additional material: Oliver Levy Additional questions: The Audience Original music: Tim Sutton Recording engineer: David Thomas Mixed by: Rich Evans Producer: Ed Morrish A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4

    29 min

  8. 25/11/2024

    Best Medicine

    Joining Kiri Pritchard-McLean this week is comedian Daliso Chaponda who champions Denial as the best medicine (or does he?). Urology Consultant Mr Bob Yang explains how a pineapple-flavoured UTI vaccine is changing lives, Dr Dana Damian takes Kiri on a journey through the body with tiny swallowable Origami Surgical Robots, and paramedic Thomas Martin teaches Kiri how to stay alive with Defibrillators. And the panel hear from David, one of the few people in the world who can claim he was brought back from clinical death with a defibrillator - and has also watched the whole incident on video. Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by a funny and fascinating panel of comedians, doctors, scientists, and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future. Each week Kiri challenges a panel of medical experts and a comedian to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each guest champions anything from world-changing science or an obscure invention, to an every-day treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure. Whether it’s origami surgical robots, life-changing pineapple UTI vaccines, Victorian scandal mags, denial, sleep, tiny beating organoid hearts, lifesaving stem cell transplants, gold poo donors or even crying - it’s always something worth celebrating. Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean Featuring: Daliso Chaponda, Dr Dana Damian, Thomas Martin and Mr Bob Yang Written by Mel Owen, Pravanya Pillay, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Ben Rowse Producers: Tashi Radha and Ben Worsfield Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4

    29 min
See All (13)

Ratings & Reviews

3.5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Brighten your week with the latest BBC Radio 4 comedy.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2010 - 2025
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2025
  • Show Website
    Comedy of the Week

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