Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2026-03-24T17:41:34.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Gavin & Stacey favourite stars in first look at BBC's new "big, character-driven comedy"
items: Slow Horses and Last Tango in Halifax stars confirmed for all-new drama from Sharon Horgan
items: BAFTA TV Awards 2026 nominations revealed: Full list of nominees including Celebrity Traitors, Doctor Who legend and EastEnders
items: Malcolm in the Middle reboot release date: When is it on?
items: The Magic Faraway Tree film writer: “The problem for kids now is that they don’t know how to be bored”
items: The Comeback's final season proves Lisa Kudrow's best role isn't Phoebe in Friends
items: Ben Keaton, Father Ted and Emmerdale actor, dies aged 69
items: Roisin Conaty's top 10 comedy picks
items: Scrubs season 10 release schedule – when will episode 6 be released?
items: BBC confirms Small Prophets has achieved major TV milestone for 2026 so far
items: Coronation Street and more stars confirmed for special Amandaland sketch in Comic Relief
items: Boarders creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor: "TV has taken a step back, but a lot of us have pushed through and shown that we can tell our stories well"
items: Bluey stage show and 10 new episodes confirmed to be heading to streaming as release dates revealed
items: Ted Lasso fan favourite addresses potential season 4 return amid absence from cast
items: The X-Files legend to write and star in new satirical comedy opposite OITNB and Dirty Dancing favourites
items: Mr Bates vs The Post Office legend confirmed to be joining award-winning BBC comedy
items: Boarders creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor talks ending his beloved comedy show: "I want to keep making work about the Black experience"
items: Scrubs creator is "really hopeful" that revival series will return for season 2
items: Yes, I'm still watching reruns of The Office while the world is on fire - and this is why
items: People Just Do Nothing creators tease potential return for Kurupt FM characters
items: I interviewed TV comedy's biggest stars – and here's how to write a hit sitcom
items: Has Small Prophets been renewed for season 2? Latest news
items: Why Scrubs revival's relationship development is such an unexpected yet inspired move
items: British TV desperately needs something it has rarely achieved for the comedy genre to thrive
items: Alan Carr reveals whether we can expect acting career pivot after Changing Ends and Celebrity Traitors success
items: Ghosts feature film The Possession of Button House reveals new competition with "truly extraordinary" prize for fans
items: Succession and Pride & Prejudice legend stars in first-look trailer for quirky new comedy drama featuring "technological accident"
items: Toast of London's Matt Berry reveals why he fears another revival for the wacky sitcom
items: Doctor Who legend Steven Moffat teases new TV show: "It’s the closest thing I’ve done to Press Gang"
items: DTF St Louis is a super weird crime show with a soft underbelly

Gavin & Stacey favourite stars in first look at BBC's new "big, character-driven comedy"
type: item
date: 2026-03-24T17:41:34.000Z
creator: Phoebe Kowhai Barnes
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: News
description: Bill's Included will be coming to screens soon.
encoded: Gavin & Stacey favourite Rob Brydon stars in a first look at the BBC's new comedy Bill's Included. The sitcom follows Bill Beam, played by Brydon, a well-meaning but over-enthusiastic divorcee who rents his spare rooms to students to stay afloat. As Bill tries, and often fails, to be both a responsible landlord and honorary housemate, he and his mismatched lodgers muddle through chaos, growing pains and unexpected friendships. Joining Brydon in the cast are Samantha Spiro (Waiting for the Out) and Nigel Lindsay (MobLand) as Bill’s neighbours, Siobhan and Martin, while Kevin Eldon (Trigger Point) is record store owner Drew. Dylan Brady (Mary & George), Ada Player (The Power of Parker), Harry Baxendale (The Radleys) and Yasmin Al-Khudhairi (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder) also join the cast as students Christian, Hettie, James and Zahra, who can been seen in the below image. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/03/bills-included-bbc-cast-c2034e6.jpg" width="4582" height="3055" alt="Harry Baxendale as James, Yasmin Al-Khudhairi as Zahra, Rob Brydon as Bill, Ada Player as Hettie and Dylan Brady as Christian in Bill's Included, with bags, suitcases and pillows, standing outside a house." title="Harry Baxendale as James, Yasmin Al-Khudhairi as Zahra, Rob Brydon as Bill, Ada Player as Hettie and Dylan Brady as Christian in Bill's Included" /> Filming is already under way for the new BBC show, which will comprise six 30-minute episodes. On his new role, Brydon said: "I feel very lucky to be part of Bill's Included. Alex Owen and Ben Ashenden have written some truly wonderful scripts and I can’t wait to help bring them to life." Rupert Majendie, executive producer at Baby Cow Productions, added: "Bill’s Included is exactly the kind of show we love making at Baby Cow. "Big, character driven comedy with real emotional truth at its core. It’s full of brilliantly funny performances, led by the incomparable Rob Brydon. We are so excited for eve…

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Slow Horses and Last Tango in Halifax stars confirmed for all-new drama from Sharon Horgan
type: item
date: 2026-03-24T15:59:38.000Z
creator: Phoebe Kowhai Barnes
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: HBO
description: Let the laughs commence.
encoded: Stars of both Slow Horses and Last Tango in Halifax have been confirmed for an all-new drama from comedy writer Sharon Horgan. The new HBO Original Comedy Series YOUTH will see Harriet Walter, Anne Reid, and Freddie Fox star as its main cast. As well as writing and executive producing, Sharon Horgan will also star in the upcoming series. She has previously written and acted in the 2015 Channel 4 series Catastrophe alongside Rob Delaney, and is also the comedic mastermind behind BBC's Motherland. YOUTH follows a 50-year-old divorcee’s search for sex and love whilst juggling caring for her ailing parents and parenting her should-be grown up son. Anne Reid is best known for playing Valerie Barlow in Coronation Street from 1961 to 1971, and later Celia Dawson in Last Tango in Halifax between 2012 and 2020, for which she was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for best actress. Dame Harriet Walter has had a career spanning over 50 years and is no stranger to comedy acting, starring in the Apple TV sports comedy-drama series Ted Lasso. She is also known for her roles in Succession and Silo. Whilst Freddie Fox is most recognised from House of the Dragon and Slow Horses, he has also had previous comedy roles in Apple TV's The Great and the Victorian police comedy on Channel 4 Year of the Rabbit. YOUTH is produced by Merman, which also produced the likes of Amandaland, Bad Sisters and Vladimir, Horgan's own production company which she co-founded in 2014 alongside Clelia Mountford. Additional executive producers are Faye Dorn for Merman, Jim Kleverweis, and Dawn Shadforth, who will also direct. For her comedy work Sharon Horgan has won numerous accolades including seven BAFTA nominations and two wins - best drama series in 2023 for Bad Sisters and best writer: comedy for Catastrophe in 2016. Add YOUTH to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or …

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BAFTA TV Awards 2026 nominations revealed: Full list of nominees including Celebrity Traitors, Doctor Who legend and EastEnders
type: item
date: 2026-03-24T12:16:53.000Z
creator: Lewis Knight
subject: Comedy
subject: Coronation Street
subject: Current Affairs
subject: Documentaries
subject: Drama
subject: EastEnders
subject: Fantasy
subject: Sci-fi
subject: Sport
subject: TV
subject: Soaps
subject: BBC
subject: News
description: Adolescence, A Thousand Blows, Andor, and Trespasses lead the way.
encoded: We finally have the BAFTA TV Awards 2026 nominations in, and it's a big night ahead for Stephen Graham. Multiple nominations are in for the beloved Liverpuddlian actor, including 11 nominations for Adolescence and a further seven for A Thousand Blows. Elsewhere, the acclaimed Star Wars series Andor and Channel 4 historical drama Trespasses each have six nominations, while The Celebrity Traitors has five. Meanwhile, Doctor Who legend Matt Smith is nominated for his turn in The Death of Bunny Munro, while EastEnders and Coronation Street go head to head with Casualty for the Soap award. Read below for the full list of nominees at the BAFTA TV Awards 2026. BAFTA TV Awards 2026 nominations revealed: Full list of nominees including Doctor Who legend and Netflix smash hit Actor in a Comedy Jim Howick, Here We Go Jon Pointing, Big Boys Lenny Rush, Am I Being Unreasonable? Mawaan Rizwan Juice Oliver Savell, Changing Ends Steve Coogan, How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge) Actress in a Comedy Diane Morgan, Mandy Jennifer Saunders, Amandaland Katherine Parkinson, Here We Go Lucy Punch, Amandaland Philippa Dunne, Amandaland Rosie Jones, Pushers Children’s: Non-Scripted A Real Bugs Life Boosnoo! Production Team Deadly 60 Saving Sharks World.war.me (Sky Kids Investigates) Children’s: Scripted Crongton Horrible Science Shaun the Sheep The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball Current Affairs Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War (Exposure) The Covid Contracts: Follow the Money Gaza: Doctors Under Attack Undercover in the Police (Panorama) Daytime The Chase Lorraine Richard Osman’s House of Games Scam Interceptors Drama Series A Thousand Blows Blue Lights Code of Silence This City Is Ours Entertainment The Graham Norton Show Last One Laughing Michael McIntyre’s Big Show Would I Lie to You Entertainment Performance Amanda Holden and Alan Carr, Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job Bob Mortimer, Last One Laughing Claudia Winkleman, The Celebrity Traitors Lee Mack, The 1% Club Rob Beckett and Romesh R…

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Malcolm in the Middle reboot release date: When is it on?
type: item
date: 2026-03-23T17:23:47.000Z
creator: Helen Daly
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
description: Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair will bring the beloved family back to screens for the first time in nearly two decades.
encoded: Release date status: Confirmed First episode release date: Friday 10 April 2026 Release pattern: Full box set (all episodes released at once) Total episodes: Four Channel/Streaming service: Disney+ and Hulu Last updated: Monday 23 March 2026 Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair will premiere on Friday 10 April 2026 on Disney+ and Hulu, picking up the story of Malcolm and his family almost 20 years after the original series ended. The limited series reunites the core cast and introduces a new generation to the chaos and comedy of the central clan. This new chapter finds Malcolm, now a father himself, reluctantly returning to his family’s orbit for his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. The revival will continue to explore the enduring dysfunction and hilarity of the family, with returning cast members including Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek and more. Read on for all you need to know about the Malcolm in the Middle reboot series. Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair release date – when is it on? The first episode of Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair will be available from Friday 10 April 2026 on Disney+ and Hulu. All four episodes will be released simultaneously, allowing fans to binge the entire miniseries in one go. Is there a trailer for Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair? Yes – an official trailer for Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair has been released, offering a first look at the returning cast and the signature family mayhem. The trailer teases Malcolm’s attempts to keep his new life separate from his old one, only for chaos to ensue when he’s summoned home for his parents’ anniversary. Watch it below: View oEmbed on the source website Who is in the Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair cast? Main cast expected to appear includes: Frankie Muniz as Malcolm Bryan Cranston as Hal Jane Kaczmarek as Lois Christopher Masterson as Francis Justin Berfield as Reese Emy Coligado as Piama Caleb Ellsworth-Clark as …

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The Magic Faraway Tree film writer: “The problem for kids now is that they don’t know how to be bored”
type: item
date: 2026-03-23T17:00:50.000Z
creator: Stephen Kelly
subject: Comedy
subject: Movies
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: Exclusive
subject: News
description: "We were just not finished with Ghosts. We thought about a stage show for a bit and then eventually had a great idea for a movie. It’s the right sort of different flavour to the TV show."
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Simon Farnaby has a story about the time his work on the Paddington films led to him sharing a scene with the Queen. “I told her, ‘You’re a good actress, ma’am,’” recalls Farnaby, who played a palace footman in the Paddington-themed sketch to celebrate the 2022 Platinum Jubilee. “And she said, ‘I do it all the time, you see.’” Farnaby, assuming that she was being metaphorical, replied, “‘Oh, you mean playing the part of the Queen?’ She went, ‘No, I am the Queen’. Then she looked at me like I was an idiot and pointed at where Paddington was supposed to be sitting and said, ‘He’s not real, but I am. I’m the Queen!’” There is a chance that you may not recognise Simon Farnaby with his trousers on. The writer and actor is best known for his role in the BBC sitcom Ghosts, in which he played the spirit of a Conservative MP doomed to haunt the afterlife in his pants. The comedy ended in 2023 after five series, but it was recently announced that it is being revived as a movie. “We knocked it on the head at its height,” says Farnaby. “But I think we were just not finished with Ghosts. We thought about a stage show for a bit and then eventually had a great idea for a movie. It’s the right sort of different flavour to the TV show.” Crowd-pleasing family films are familiar territory for Farnaby. Over the past decade he has carved out a niche for the silly cinema that delights kids and entertains adults. There was his work co-writing Paddington 2, which briefly toppled Citizen Kane as the best reviewed movie of all time. But there’s also Roald Dahl prequel Wonka, the sugary box-office smash starring Timothée Chalamet (Farnaby co-wrote with Paddington director Paul King). Now Farnaby is climbing The Magic Faraway Tree, another charming screen adaptation of a cherished childhood classic. Published in 1939, Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree books are short, whimsical tales about three children whose discovery of an enchanted tree leads t…

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The Comeback's final season proves Lisa Kudrow's best role isn't Phoebe in Friends
type: item
date: 2026-03-23T15:47:06.000Z
creator: David Opie
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: NOW
subject: On demand
description: Valerie Cherish is back one last time – and if you haven't met her yet, you're in for a treat.
encoded: Lisa Kudrow stars in one of the greatest sitcoms ever made, and I'm not talking about Friends. That's not to say the '90s hit show wasn't special or that Kudrow didn't impress as Phoebe Buffay. There's a reason her breakout role was nominated six times at the Emmys, after all. Plus, it's fair to say that 'Smelly Cat' still remains a banger, three decades on. But if there's any justice in this world, Kudrow's legacy would be defined by another Emmy-nominated role of hers instead. Following Friends, Kudrow teamed up with Sex and the City creator Michael Patrick King to develop a new sitcom based on a character named Valerie Cherish, who she developed while performing improv comedy in LA. The result was The Comeback, which starred Kudrow as a tightly wound actress who would do whatever it takes to revive her career. No sacrifice was too big in the pursuit of fame, and more importantly, validation. Season 1 went under the radar at first, as is often the case with shows ahead of their time. Despite Kudrow's considerable fame and status in the world of comedy, Valerie Cherish became an underdog both on and off screen when the show was abruptly cancelled after just one season in 2005. Mixed reviews and poor ratings didn't matter though when word-of-mouth and a new life on DVD gave the show a comeback of its own nine years on. After season 1 pre-empted the humiliations of reality TV, following Cherish as she desperately clawed her way back to prominence, season 2 saw Cherish play a fictionalised version of herself on an HBO show based on real-life problems she faced in season 1. Meta in both narrative and theme, The Comeback has always had an eye on what's coming, tackling insecurities in Hollywood via the world's most insecure actress. Twelve years on, the third and (supposedly) final season confronts what might be Hollywood's biggest threat yet — AI. Doing all she can to stay relevant using social media and a podcast named Cherish the Time, Valerie gets swept up when exec…

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Ben Keaton, Father Ted and Emmerdale actor, dies aged 69
type: item
date: 2026-03-23T12:40:07.000Z
creator: Phoebe Kowhai Barnes
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: News
description: Tributes have poured in for the beloved Irish actor.
encoded: Ben Keaton, famous for his role in the comedy series Father Ted and appearances in Emmerdale, has died aged 69. The Irish actor was best known as Father Austin Purcell in the beloved Channel 4 series Father Ted before going on to star in multiple soaps and sitcoms including Emmerdale and Casualty. He passed away "very suddenly" at Lincoln County Hospital on Friday last week, leaving his family and friends in shock. His death notice reads: "Ben will be forever greatly missed, loved and fondly remembered by his ex-wife Polly, son Waldo and daughter Daisy, brothers Des and Thom, sister Jeanette. "Best known for his roles in TV shows including Father Ted, Emmerdale, Casualty, The Bill, films including East is East etc. and Theatre performances in Animal Crackers, Harvey, Cyrano de Bergerac, Hay Fever, etc, a founder member of the improv group South Of The River, and a director of the Creative Academy, and more. Funeral arrangements to be announced later." Posting to Facebook, his ex-wife Polly said: "So incredibly sorry to say Ben Keaton died last night. It was very sudden and we are all in shock. "We had separated several years ago but we had half a lifetime together and infuriated and made each other cry with laughter in equal measure. He was a great dad to Waldo and Daisy and the finest Groucho and Cyrano I have ever seen." View oEmbed on the source website The Dublin-born actor had an acting career spanning decades, first starting out in theatre before moving into comedy, television and film. His first screen role was in the ITV police drama The Bill in 1989, but it was his 1995 role of Father Austin Purcell in Father Ted that launched his career. In 2019, Radio Times named Father Ted as the second-greatest British sitcom of all time, beaten only by Fawlty Towers. During his career, Keaton received a number of awards including the 1986 Perrier Comedy Award and two Best Actor accolades from the Manchester Evening News. He also received a nomination for the prestigiou…

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Roisin Conaty's top 10 comedy picks
type: item
date: 2026-03-20T07:00:55.000Z
creator: Radio Times Staff
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Amazon Prime Video
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: On demand
subject: Video
description: The co-host of LOL: Last One Laughing UK reveals her favourite film and TV comedies.
encoded: It was the TV hit no one saw coming. When Last One Laughing landed on Prime Video last year, it became the fastest word-of-mouth sensation we’ve seen at Radio Times. A brilliantly simple idea, it locked 10 of Britain’s sharpest comics in a room and challenged them to do the unthinkable: not laugh. So, to celebrate its return, we asked comedian and co-host Roisin Conaty to talk us through her top 10 comedy picks from TV and film. From a 1970s stand-up special to the sitcom that Roisin says inspired Gogglebox, it's a list that with humour in all shapes and sizes. So which titles will you add to your watchlist? 1. Withnail & I This is my all-time favourite comedy film. I use it as a tool to work out if I'm going to get on with other people — by seeing whether they like it or not. I used to know every single word and we would say it out loud as we watched it. I first saw it when I was 18 at my friend Ollie's house, and then we got very stoned and watched it again, and again, and again. It gets better every time you watch it because as you get older you see the themes more: 'They’re selling hippie wigs in Woolworths, man." Great movie! Also I think Richard E Grant should’ve won an Oscar – I don’t think there is a better performance than Richard E Grant in Withnail & I. Sorry! 2. Curb Your Enthusiasm Larry David is my all-time hero. This show is so, so funny: it's cringe comedy, but really it feels like he says the things that we all want to say in those situations. I love it. I think it's also very original, considering that he'd already written Seinfeld. It's amazing to have this hit after that. 3. Keeping Up Appearances This was a sitcom that really inspired me. There’s no better TV comedy performance than Patricia Routledge’s physical performance in this. Even though you’ll find that sometimes she does the same thing in different episodes — like when she falls up the path going to visit her brother-in-law's house — each time it makes me laugh. Her whole character and …

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Scrubs season 10 release schedule – when will episode 6 be released?
type: item
date: 2026-03-19T09:34:09.000Z
creator: Abby Robinson
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Disney Plus
subject: On demand
description: Make sure you don't miss a moment.
encoded: Another week, another episode of Scrubs to bring some much-needed cheer, with the hospital sitcom enjoying rude health in the second half of its revival season. Indeed, the sheer quality of the Scrubs reboot is higher than many fans dared hope, capturing the spirit of the original without feeling tired or out-of-date. That's partly thanks to the bold status quo changes in this new era, including a shock divorce between JD (Zach Braff) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke), whose romance was such a key focus of the original series. Although it could have caused uproar, fans have instead been pleasantly surprised by the Scrubs writers' delicate handling of this subplot, which continues this week as JD attempts to throw himself back into the dating scene. If you can't get enough of this nostalgic revival, read on for everything you need to know about the Scrubs season 10 release schedule – including when to expect episode 6. When will episode 6 of Scrubs season 10 be released? Scrubs season 10 is working to a weekly release schedule, which means that episode 6 will be released on Wednesday 25 March on ABC/Hulu in the US and Thursday 26 March on Disney+ in the UK. The high-profile revival launched worldwide with a double-bill in late February. Check out our Scrubs season 10 review for a detailed verdict on whether it's worth watching. How many episodes are there in Scrubs season 10? There are a total of nine episodes in Scrubs season 10. That's quite a bit shorter than the show's earliest seasons – so here's hoping more seasons are on their way. Scrubs season 10 release schedule Episodes of Scrubs season 10 will be released weekly. With the season having started on Wednesday 25 February in the US, this means the finale will be released on ABC on Wednesday 15 April. In the UK, fans can watch the finale on Disney+ on Thursday 16 April. Here's a full breakdown of the release schedule for Scrubs season 10 on ABC in the US and Disney+ in the UK: Scrubs season 10 episode 1 – My Return – …

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BBC confirms Small Prophets has achieved major TV milestone for 2026 so far
type: item
date: 2026-03-17T16:44:37.000Z
creator: Abby Robinson
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: News
description: It's looking good for season 2...
encoded: More than three years on from the Detectorists Christmas special, Mackenzie Crook returned to screens with his third project, Small Prophets, which was met with widespread acclaim from critics and viewers alike. The six-part series, as funny as it is sad, follows Michael Sleep, who miraculously grows creatures with the ability to predict the future in his garden shed, hoping to learn what became of his girlfriend Clea. She walked out on him nearly seven years ago – but he's never stopped hoping that one day she'll return. Yet his attempt to bring the small prophets to life becomes the very adventure he needs to pull himself out of his funk – and sparks an unexpected friendship with his colleague Kacey, which is one of the true joys of the series alongside a delightful turn from Sir Michael Palin as Michael's dad Brian. It's a moving tale of love, friendship, hope and a touch of magic, which has clearly resonated with audiences. Small Prophets is the BBC's biggest new scripted launch of the year to date, attracting 7.7 million viewers (28-day figure) for episode 1. That also makes it the biggest comedy launch episode across the market (excluding specials) since Ludwig in 2024 (9.5 million viewers, 28 days). For BBC Two, it's the biggest comedy episode of the last 10 years, well ahead of the Detectorists 2022 Christmas special (4.5 million). And it's also the biggest comedy launch on iPlayer since at least 2022 (ahead of Ludwig episode 1 at 5.5 million), bringing in 5.9 million for its first episode, while 4 million viewers have already watched the entire series on iPlayer. "I couldn’t be happier with the response to Small Prophets. The feedback from the audience, the reviews and figures have been better than I dared to hope," said Mackenzie Crook. “I gradually crafted this idea over about 10 years and I think it has benefited from that slow percolation. The BBC comedy department has long given me the space, support and trust to make my shows and there is nowhere else…

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Coronation Street and more stars confirmed for special Amandaland sketch in Comic Relief
type: item
date: 2026-03-17T15:20:08.000Z
creator: David Craig
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: News
description: Amanda is rubbing shoulders with celebrities in the new sketch – but will it end in another humbling embarrassment?
encoded: Amandaland's place in the pantheon of modern sitcoms is to be cemented with an exciting sketch for Comic Relief 2026, which brings together some of TV's most notable Amandas. Series regulars Lucy Punch and Philippa Dunne will reprise the roles of snobby suburbanite Amanda and her mistreated 'best friend' Anne, in a short story that sees the duo invited to BBC Broadcasting House for an interview with Sara Cox. Alas, things don't go quite according to plan as "mix-ups, misunderstandings, and classic slapstick humour" ensue, involving other famous Amandas from across the length and breadth of British telly. Confirmed names to feature include Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden, property expert Amanda Lamb, Coronation Street legend Amanda Barrie, TV presenter Amanda Byram and recent The Traitors contestant Amanda Collier. The sketch will premiere as part of the Comic Relief telethon, which commences on Friday 20th March at 7pm on BBC One, iPlayer and YouTube, with a behind-the-scenes teaser to be unveiled on Thursday night's edition of The One Show. "Doing a sketch for Comic Relief is pretty iconic, so that's a big deal," said co-star Dunne. "I'm looking forward to working with Lucy again, meeting all the Amandas, being inside the BBC building and having a nose around – not that I'll be doing that!" She continued: "Any chance to do a bit of Amanda and Anne stuff is always fun as far as I'm concerned... We just have the utmost fun when we're doing those two characters because we get to be silly, so it's really nice." Holden commented: "I am a massive, massive fan of Amandaland. We watch it religiously in our house, so it's a little bit of an out of body experience for me, especially because my name gets mentioned in the sitcom quite a bit!" Also taking part in the fun is Cox, who plays herself as one of the BBC's most trusted radio presenters, plus It's A Sin and Big Mood star Lydia West as her "overwhelmed" producer and Lucia Keskin (Things You Should Have Done) as…

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Boarders creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor: "TV has taken a step back, but a lot of us have pushed through and shown that we can tell our stories well"
type: item
date: 2026-03-16T11:39:18.000Z
creator: Morgan Cormack
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: Interview
subject: Pass the Mic
description: Boarders creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor chats to Pass the Mic about the end of his hit comedy series and whether the TV industry is taking diversity seriously.
encoded: What started off as a series that Daniel Lawrence Taylor wrote very much for himself has turned into Boarders continuing to grow in success, attract big stars in its guest cast and now, making quite the emotional final farewell. That's right, Boarders has come to the end of its line and at three seasons long, in a TV landscape that often can't guarantee whether a popular series will even get a renewal these days, Boarders has continued to be a jewel in the BBC's comedy crown. While the news of the show ending is a bittersweet moment for fans of the series, those final episodes of Boarders map out an all too relatable time in all of our lives as we kiss goodbye to uniforms and seeing your classmates everyday, ready for the excitement that adult life – and for many, university – will bring. It's a full-circle moment for our five boarders in question; Femi (Aruna Jalloh), Leah (Jodie Campbell), Jaheim (Josh Tedeku), Omar (Myles Kamwendo) and Toby (Sekou Diaby). Where season 1 saw them as first entering the prestigious halls of St Gilbert's, now we're seeing them trying to contend with the scary prospect of the future, relationships, exams and more. Essentially, it's a fitting place to leave Boarders seeing as they'll not actually be in boarding school anymore. But was this three-season arc and leaving them as they go their separate ways always the plan for the comedy-drama? "If truth be told, I kind of live series to series. When I started series one, I think it was so odd in some ways, I was kind of just writing it for me. It was good that I drowned out the outside noise and I was just writing something very much for me. Then subconsciously and consciously, obviously, I was writing it for people like me as well," Taylor tells me. After seeing how much the series resonated with the audience, it was only then that Taylor recognised he was onto a winner. Riding that wave of praise took him into season 2 where he continued to think about how he'd continue to build this se…

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Bluey stage show and 10 new episodes confirmed to be heading to streaming as release dates revealed
type: item
date: 2026-03-13T11:44:09.000Z
creator: Molly Moss
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Disney Plus
subject: News
subject: On demand
description: Bluey's Big Play – The Stage Show is currently touring across the UK.
encoded: Bluey's Big Play – The Stage Show and 10 new minisodes of the show are heading to Disney Plus. The televised version of the popular live theatre show, which is currently touring across the UK and Ireland, will hit the streamer on 16 March 2026. Bluey's Big Play – The Stage Show, which is an adaptation of the multi Emmy-winning animated series, features fan-favourite Bluey characters brought to life by puppeteers, an original story by series creator Joe Brumm and music composed by Joff Bush. You can watch the trailer for the stage show below: View oEmbed on the source website The minisodes, which were previously only available online and in Australia, will hit Disney Plus on 2o May. The instalments, which range from one to three minutes, are produced by Ludo Studio, and further explore the characters and world of Bluey. The collection includes: Humpty Dumpty, Green Bottles, Flying Saucer, Tea Party, Pea Pod Sausages, Old Macdonald, Honk, Lollipop Song, Cinderella, and Make Mum Laugh. As was previously announced, Bluey is also getting a feature film, although fans will have to wait until 2027 for that to hit our screens. The film was announced back in 2024, with writer and director and series creator Brumm saying at the time: "I really enjoyed the experience of working with a longer format on The Sign in Series 3, so going even further with a feature film feels like a natural extension of that." He continued: "I’ve always thought Bluey deserved a theatrical movie. I want this to be an experiential event for the whole family to enjoy together. "I’m excited to continue to partner with Cecilia Persson, Tom Fussell and the team at BBC Studios, and Dana Walden, Alan Bergman and Disney to bring this new Bluey story to the big screen." Bluey is available to stream on Disney Plus. Sign up to Disney Plus from £4.99 per month. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to…

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Ted Lasso fan favourite addresses potential season 4 return amid absence from cast
type: item
date: 2026-03-11T15:33:50.000Z
creator: Molly Moss
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Apple TV
subject: News
subject: On demand
description: “Never say never."
encoded: Ted Lasso star Phil Dunster has addressed a potential for season 4 of the hit Apple TV+ series. While the actor, who plays Jamie Tartt on the show, wasn’t included in the official season 4 cast list when it was announced last July, he hasn’t explicitly denied a comeback and was spotted on the show’s Richmond set in September 2025, fuelling rumours that he could be returning. Speaking to The Telegraph in a new interview, Dunster was asked whether he could make an appearance in season 4, to which he responded: “Never say never, and fingers crossed.” Meanwhile, speaking recently to PEOPLE, Dunster was asked whether he’s been speaking to Hannah Waddingham and Jason Sudeikis about filming, and if he has a sense of what fans can expect. "Yes. Maybe. Maybe," he responded, before going on to note that it feels "amazing" to hear from the cast. "I'm so happy that it's still in the world, and I love that show so much," he added. "I can't wait to watch it." After the rumour mill first started churning following Dunster’s absence from the official season 4 cast list, Deadline reported that the actor would not be returning due to scheduling conflicts. Dunster then told the Always Be Comedy podcast that that wasn't the case and that he “didn’t know” if he would appear in the fourth season. He said: "It’s been greenlit to write another series. It’s been announced that series 4 is going to be a thing. There’s been a commission to write the fourth series, whether that ends up being a show, I don't know. I don't know any of that stuff. I don't know if I'll be in it. There are certain members of the cast who have been re-upped, as it were." He continued: "But yeah, I mean it's pretty good news I think in that it looks like it will happen. Season 4 is going be a thing. They start writing next year, I think. But yeah, other than that I don't really know anything." Ted Lasso fans will know that Tartt got a fairly conclusive ending to his arc in the season 3 finale, having transformed from…

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The X-Files legend to write and star in new satirical comedy opposite OITNB and Dirty Dancing favourites
type: item
date: 2026-03-11T13:41:08.000Z
creator: Phoebe Kowhai Barnes
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: News
description: David Duchovny will be joined by daughter West on the new series.
encoded: David Duchovny will write and star in the new satirical comedy Soapbox, with production currently under way. The X-Files legend will act opposite a star-studded cast including Orange Is the New Black's Laverne Cox and Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing fame. Per Deadline, Soapbox is a satirical comedy about an ageing soap opera star who unexpectedly finds himself entangled in the absurdities of modern culture wars. Duchovny wrote the new series alongside Max Barbakow, who previously directed the 2020 Prime Video romantic comedy film Palm Springs starring Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg. It will be directed by Andrew J Cohen, best known for his work on Zac Efron comedies Bad Neighbours and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. Joining David, Cox and Grey in the cast is David's 26-year-old daughter West Duchovny from the Netflix series Painkiller, Fresh Off the Boat's Randall Park, and Jimmi Simpson of Westworld fame. This is not the first time that David will be acting alongside his daughter West, as in 2018 she starred in an episode of The X-Files in the show's 11th season as the character Maddy. Further details about the new comedy are currently being kept under wraps but it is known that production kicked off in Los Angeles earlier this month. David Duchovny first began his screen acting career in 1988 when he was 28 years old. He is best known for playing FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in the cult classic TV show The X-Files alongside Gillian Anderson from 1993 to 2002 and again from 2016 to 2018, and in the two spin-off films. View Green Video on the source website The role earned him a Golden Globe, five Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as two Emmy nominations. Over the show's run he starred in 191 episodes and also wrote and directed a few. He also provided the voice for a parody of his Mulder character in the Springfield Files episode of The Simpsons. It was recently revealed that The X-Files could be returning to screens, with Sinners director Ryan Coogler overseei…

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Mr Bates vs The Post Office legend confirmed to be joining award-winning BBC comedy
type: item
date: 2026-03-10T17:00:13.000Z
creator: James Hibbs
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: News
subject: On demand
description: Monica Dolan is joining the cast of Smoggie Queens for season 2.
encoded: After its first run back in 2024 won two RTS North East and the Borders Awards, BBC comedy series Smoggie Queens is almost back for season 2 – and there are some big stars joining the cast. A set of first-look images have been released for the Middlesbrough-based show's second season, which will be released on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer this spring, showing off both the new and returning characters. New stars joining for season 2 include Mr Bates vs The Post Office actor Monica Dolan, along with Amalia Vitale and Freya Parker. Meanwhile, sports broadcasters Jeff Stelling and Chris Kamara will both also be making an appearance, and are seen in one of the images alongside returning star Steph McGovern. Returning cast members for season 2 include the show's creator Phil Dunning, as well as Mark Benton, Alexandra Mardell, Patsy Lowe, Elijah Young, Neil Grainger, Charlotte Riley, Peter McPherson, Lauryn Redding, Michael Mather, Bill Fellows, Michael Hodgson and Michelle Visage. The series follows the lives of a group of LGBTQ+ friends, including the volatile Dickie, drag queen Mam, self-styled hun Lucinda, awkward Sal and newly out Stewart. The official synopsis for the six-part season 2 says: "Picking up where we left off in Middlesbrough, the gang are navigating love, friendship and plenty of drama. "Dickie is single and on the hunt for romance while Mam is facing ghosts from her past who are back in the Boro. Sal finds herself torn between Danni and Mel and our Lucinda hits a road bump with Neil while Stewart is embracing his new fresh chapter in life. "Along the way there are date nights, coming-out parties, a male beauty pageant and even a football match. Yes, really. Because if there’s one thing you can expect from Smoggie Queens, it’s that much like drag itself, every episode is serving something fresh!" Smoggie Queens season 2 will air on BBC Three and iPlayer this Spring. Add Smoggie Queens to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" …

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Boarders creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor talks ending his beloved comedy show: "I want to keep making work about the Black experience"
type: item
date: 2026-03-09T17:00:56.000Z
creator: Paul Kirkley
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: As his culture-clash school comedy Boarders returns for a final term, Daniel Lawrence Taylor reveals why humour is more effective than anger.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. There was an awkward moment during Sir Lenny Henry’s address to the Royal Television Society in 2019 when, having lavished praise on Daniel Lawrence Taylor’s BAFTA-nominated comedy Timewasters, he asked the ITV execs in the audience if the show would be returning for a third series. Met with embarrassed clearing of throats, Henry went on to speak of the “two-season jinx” that seemed to bedevil projects with Black leads and writers. But here’s the good news: seven years on, Taylor’s follow-up show, Boarders, has made it to series three on the BBC. The curse, it seems, has lifted. “Yeah, that feels so good,” grins the writer and performer, at home in south London. “You wouldn’t believe the number of Black creators who’ve mentioned that to me. Just the other day I was speaking to Adjani Salmon [writer-star of BBC Three’s Dreaming Whilst Black] and he said, ‘I can’t believe you’ve done it!’” Launched on BBC Three in 2024, Boarders is a culture-clash comedy-drama about five underprivileged Black sixth-formers on a scholarship to a very posh, very white, private boarding school. It’s a show with a big heart – and a message that’s no less powerful for being delivered with a lightness of touch. View oEmbed on the source website “First and foremost, it’s a piece of entertainment,” explains Taylor, who also takes a role in the series as the students’ mentor. “When I sold the show, the first thing I spoke about was friendships and relationships… That’s front and centre. It’s just that the backdrop is a bit different for these particular kids than it is in Harry Potter. “I knew I could say something with this piece, about how a part of society experiences the world. But I also wanted to show the joy in things. Growing up where I did, I faced some difficult times, but I always tried to push through it with a smile on my face. I believe humour can be a more effective weapon than anger. That’s how I’ve always seen the world.” Th…

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Scrubs creator is "really hopeful" that revival series will return for season 2
type: item
date: 2026-03-07T12:11:43.000Z
creator: James Hibbs
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Disney Plus
subject: News
subject: On demand
description: The revival launched to impressive ratings.
encoded: Comedy series Scrubs has only been back on our screens for just over a week, with the revival launching 16 years after the original series ended, but already thoughts are turning to whether it will get a season 2. The revival, which has been praised by critics and fans alike, has been executive produced by creator and original showrunner Bill Lawrence, while Aseem Batra has stepped in as the new showrunner. The series launch received strong ratings, with 11.36 million viewers turning in across ABC, Hulu, Disney+ and digital platforms. Now, Lawrence has said that he and the team are "hopeful" that the show will continue beyond its first new season. Lawrence told Deadline: "We’re all crossing our fingers that they let us do a whole bunch more, but we’re really hopeful." This isn't the first time Lawrence has spoke about a potential second season. He previously also told Deadline that original series star Ken Jenkins would return as his character Dr Kelso, were a second season to be greenlit. "Dr Kelso will be back next year. It just didn’t work out this year but it will next year," he said. Regardless of Scrubs's continuation, Lawrence is certainly busy. His Apple TV shows Ted Lasso, Shrinking and Bad Monkey are all set to return for new seasons, while his new series Rooster is about to start airing on HBO in the US and Sky in the UK. That series is set on a college campus, and stars Steve Carrell as an author who tries to bond with his adult daughter as she goes through a crisis. Scrubs season 10 launched on Disney+ UK on Thursday 26 February 2026. Sign-up to Disney Plus from £5.99 a month. Add Scrubs to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_b…

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Yes, I'm still watching reruns of The Office while the world is on fire - and this is why
type: item
date: 2026-03-07T12:10:40.000Z
creator: David Brown
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Comment
description: When the headlines feel unbearable, is turning on a sitcom a cop-out or a way of keeping sane?
encoded: After spending a soul-rending hour the other evening watching the planet lurch towards catastrophe on BBC News, I did the only thing that seemed remotely survivable: I watched Michael Scott burn his foot on a George Foreman grill in The Office. Classic coping strategy. When the world darkens, reach for comedy. Except when I mentioned this in my own office the next day, a colleague pushed back. Wasn’t that the problem? Hadn’t we all spent too long hooked up to a drip feed of television? Wasn’t I just dosing myself with distraction while the house burned down? The instinct, he suggested, shouldn’t be to laugh at Steve Carell. It should be to go outside, hold a placard, and join a march. A sitcom might feel like a salve, but what if it’s also the reason we feel so politically sapped? He had a point. I was thinking I’d been sensibly managing my mood, when perhaps I’d simply been feeding a culture of diversion that leaves us passive. It reminded me of a book I read years ago by Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, in which he argued that television turns the world into razzmatazz. When everything becomes entertainment, nothing carries any weight. Suddenly, my 25-minute visit to the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company felt less like harmless relief and more like complicity. I’d only wanted a break from a news cycle that amplifies dread with every airstrike. Instead, apparently, I was another strand in the web. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/03/GettyImages-138361947-7eca5e3.jpg" width="3000" height="2001" alt="Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer, B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard, Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson, Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor, Steve Carell as Michael Scott, Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone and Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly in The Office, stood together outside." title="The Office" /> But then – one mug of tea and a few deep breaths later – perspective returned. When I switched away from the i…

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People Just Do Nothing creators tease potential return for Kurupt FM characters
type: item
date: 2026-03-06T14:21:49.000Z
creator: David Craig
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: News
subject: On demand
description: People Just Do Nothing is currently competing in Radio Times' greatest modern comedy poll – but could a new chapter be on the cards for Kurupt FM?
encoded: The creators of People Just Do Nothing have addressed the possibility of their Kurupt FM characters returning in a "new format". The hit BBC series, which originally ran from 2014 to 2018, follows a group of amateur garage artists – led by the comically self-aggrandising MC Grindah (Allan 'Seapa' Mustafa) – running a pirate radio station out of west London. Co-creators Steve Stamp and Asim Chaudhry, who devised the show alongside Mustafa and Hugo Chegwin, spoke to Radio Times as People Just Do Nothing was shortlisted in our greatest modern British comedy poll (voting is open now, until 24 March). Chaudhry attributed the show's resonance to its "conventional sitcom characters," who were instantly recognisable to all viewers regardless of their familiarity with garage music – and teased that they could live on in future projects. "The show has finished," said Chaudhry. "But I think, if the idea is strong enough, then the characters can return." Stamp echoed that opinion, revealing that the creators have "talked about a few different ideas" for reusing their Kurupt FM personas, but they want to avoid anything that could be perceived as "lazy". "It feels like there's a standard that we have to uphold for our fans," he explained. "We've done the big goodbye [in season 5], and then we've done the film [2021's Big in Japan]. "There was a sort of emotional ending to that, so we didn't want to immediately come back and start doing more stuff, because that feels like we're not staying true to the story." What is the greatest modern British TV comedy? Vote in Radio Times' poll Of course, the team has previously experimented with bringing their Kurupt FM characters into other mediums, such as 2022's live tour and a three-season Audible podcast – and it seems likely that won't be the end of it. "There's definitely life in all of the characters," concluded Stamp. "It's just choosing the right way to continue the legacy or to expand the world." One thing is for sure, Chaudhry won'…

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I interviewed TV comedy's biggest stars – and here's how to write a hit sitcom
type: item
date: 2026-03-06T07:00:44.000Z
creator: David Craig
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
description: The ingredients of a potential classic, outlined by Lisa McGee, Asim Chaudhry, Martha Howe-Douglas, Mackenzie Crook, Rob Delaney – and more!
encoded: I've spent the last few months trying to convince the country that British comedy isn't dead. To say it's been an uphill struggle would be underselling it, but to be fair, my competition is a tad more prolific. My journey began shortly after John Cleese declared, in an interview with Radio Times, that the once-great genre had popped its clogs – and the BBC was standing over its body holding a bloody knife. "The people in charge now have no idea at all," he concluded, in an indictment of our public broadcaster. "The writers deserve better than this. The British people deserve better than this." In his view, the BBC had not produced a decent comedy since The Office (which ended in 2003). Now, far be it from me to correct the creator of Fawlty Towers, but this struck me as a patently ridiculous claim. Six months on, a cursory glance at the shortlisted contenders in Radio Times' greatest modern comedy poll should decisively prove otherwise (and yes, voting is still open, by the way). It is true, however, that the comedy genre faces serious challenges: audiences are more fragmented than ever, personal tastes are thoroughly polarised and funding seems to evaporate into thin air. Earlier this week, I explained why a renewed focus on quality long-running sitcoms could help reverse those money woes. Now, it's time to think about how to make one – and for that, I've gathered some advice from those who've done it before. 1. Be specific – it won't scare people off When crafting a sitcom intended to have mass appeal, your inclination might be to think of a setting as generic as possible to avoid alienating viewers with something that they don't instantly recognise. It's an understandable, but misguided notion. On the contrary, the premise is where you can be as granularly specific as you like, so long as there is an access point for the uninitiated. Friday Night Dinner creator Robert Popper describes it as having a clear idea of what your show is "really" about, under the surfac…

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Has Small Prophets been renewed for season 2? Latest news
type: item
date: 2026-03-05T12:53:34.000Z
creator: Abby Robinson
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: BBC
description: Is Michael Sleep really heading to Canada? And will he finally come face to afce with Clea?
encoded: If you had access to magical spirits that could predict the future, what would you want to know? That's the irresistible premise behind Mackenzie Crook's BBC Two comedy Small Prophets. The six-part series follows Michael Sleep's quest to learn what happened to his girlfriend Clea, who disappeared nearly seven years ago on Christmas Eve – and whether he'll ever see her again. So, with some encouragement from his dad, he sets about growing the homunculi – or small prophets – in big glass jars in his shed and, lo and behold, they appear before him. And with some slightly more forceful encouragement from his mate Kacey, he finally asks the questions he has so desperately wanted the answers to for so long. But now that he's armed with that information, what's next? Read on for everything we know so far about a potential Small Prophets season 2. Has Small Prophets been renewed for season 2? The BBC has yet to announce if more Small Prophets is on the cards, but the finale ends with the words 'To be continued', so we have high hopes, much like Michael and Kacey when we leave them. Watch this space for updates. When could a potential Small Prophets season 2 be released? With no prior release schedule to go on, this is a tricky one to answer. We'd hope early 2027, but that's just a guess. Which cast could return for a potential Small Prophets season 2? <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/02/546988-830faa8.jpg" width="4285" height="2851" alt="Two people walk side by side along a residential street. They are both wearing navy blue work uniforms with matching blue cargo trousers; the uniforms have a visible “TOOL” logo on the chest. The person on the left is a young woman with dark hair tied back, wearing a dark plaid jacket over her uniform and looking slightly concerned or thoughtful. The person on the right is an older man with long grey hair and a full grey beard, wearing a tan jacket over his blue coveralls. They appear to be in conver…

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Why Scrubs revival's relationship development is such an unexpected yet inspired move
type: item
date: 2026-03-05T11:18:16.000Z
creator: David Opie
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Comment
subject: Contains Trailer
subject: Disney Plus
subject: On demand
description: A JD–Elliot divorce wasn’t on our Scrubs reboot bingo card, but despite initial doubts, it’s proving to be a genius move for the show.
encoded: Happy endings can be hard to come by, especially in a hospital setting. But JD managed to get his at the end of Scrubs when a final scene revealed visions of the life he'll share with Elliot and their future family. Or at least, that's what happened the first time the show ended. A much-maligned surprise ninth season brought our faves back a year later, confirming that their wedding did indeed become a reality off-screen. This wasn't exactly a happy ending though, because JD and Elliot barely appeared at all this time around. And now, 16 years later, a new Scrubs series has undone that perfect ending entirely by revealing that their marriage has ended completely. Yep, that future vision of happiness that JD saw at the end of season 8 wasn't real, just like so many other fantasy sequences he's envisioned throughout the show's run. But actually, it turns out Scrubs is all the better for it in this case. Season 10 begins with Elliot sniping at JD upon his return to Sacred Heart Hospital. It's clear that their marriage didn't end on good terms, even if we don't know the specifics of why they broke up at this stage. While that might come as a blow to fans who have been rooting for them since day one, it's not entirely out of character to see the pair face off like this. In fact, you could argue JD and Elliot have never been a good fit, constantly at odds despite the obvious chemistry they share. View Green Video on the source website Scrubs has spent the vast majority of its run convincing us that this 'will they/won't they' couple doesn't make sense long-term (a far cry from their contemporaries in other sitcoms like Friends, Frasier or The Office). The revival presents a perfect opportunity to explore that in depth, exploring a very different kind of tension beyond simplistic notions of "Will they make it?" Now that we know they don't make it, Scrubs instead offers us a glimpse of married life at a very different stage, one where JD and Elliot work towards an understan…

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British TV desperately needs something it has rarely achieved for the comedy genre to thrive
type: item
date: 2026-03-04T12:00:32.000Z
creator: David Craig
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Comment
description: It's time to end the stigma around long-running sitcoms.
encoded: There are plenty of words that you could use to describe British sitcoms: silly, sarcastic, sympathetic, or even sad. But arguably the most consequential of modern times is 'short'. The limited runs exemplified by Fawlty Towers and The Office, both of which bowed out after a dozen or so episodes, has seemingly become the favoured model by today's writers and commissioners. Take a look at the shortlist in Radio Times' greatest modern British sitcom poll and you'll find many more recent examples, including Big Boys, Derry Girls, Fleabag, Car Share, W1A and After Life. The average number of lifetime episodes per show in the entire line-up is... a rather modest 21. For context, that's one shy of a single traditional season of US network telly (admittedly, those have shrunk lately due to the shift towards streaming). On the other hand, only five adult-oriented British sitcoms have ever topped 100 episodes: The Army Game (1957-61), Last of the Summer Wine (1973-2010), Birds of a Feather (1989-2020), My Family (2000-11) and Not Going Out (2006-present). That milestone has been far more frequently surpassed in the US, across both comedy and drama, in large part due to lucrative syndication deals that kick in from around that point. You need only look at the eye-watering sums paid out for the likes of Seinfeld, Friends and The Office (US) – hint: hundreds of millions of dollars each(!) – to see the benefit that this approach can have in its most extreme cases. Now, I'd be the last person to suggest that we follow the Americans down every path they tread. But in this case, the British industry's reluctance (or inability) to produce long-running, bankable comedies is a factor challenging the genre at large. The point was brought to my attention in a recent Radio Times interview with Big Boys creator Jack Rooke, who argued that the brevity of a typical Britcom is both a blessing and a curse for our country's cultural footprint. View Green Video on the source website "Yes, there…

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Alan Carr reveals whether we can expect acting career pivot after Changing Ends and Celebrity Traitors success
type: item
date: 2026-03-04T10:43:56.000Z
creator: David Craig
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: ITVX
subject: News
subject: On demand
description: The comic also revealed key influences on his sitcom – and why writing it was a "challenge".
encoded: Alan Carr has firmly ruled out a pivot into acting, despite his recent success on both ITV1 sitcom Changing Ends and BBC One's deception-based game show The Celebrity Traitors. In both cases, the comic has convincingly played versions of himself, acting as an on-screen commentator of events from his childhood in the former, while accentuating his public persona to evade suspicion in the latter. Despite these runaway successes, Carr told Radio Times that he has no ambition to pursue an acting career, after Changing Ends was shortlisted in our greatest modern comedy poll (voting is open now, until Tuesday 24th March). "I don't know how actors do it: You sit in, basically, a portaloo with a mirror in it, and then you're called to set, you do your lines, and then you go back," he shared. "I have no desire to be in a sitcom. My thing is stand-up comedy," continued Carr, addressing options beyond Changing Ends. "I love it – wham, bam, thank you, ma'am, tell your jokes and go home!" Reflecting on the success of Changing Ends, which recently aired its third season and has a fourth on the way, Carr explained that he sought to make a "traditional" sitcom with a more family-friendly approach than his stand-up sets. "When I wrote it, I deliberately didn't put any swearing in or anything uncomfortable or rude," he explained. "I wanted a bona fide sitcom like I used to enjoy when I was growing up, that I would sit down with my family [to watch]. What is the greatest modern British TV comedy? Vote in Radio Times' poll "I wanted to push myself and not have a swear word as a punch line. I wanted it to be good, old fashioned jokes that resonate with people. It was a challenge to myself, because if you've seen my stand up, you'll know I can be a little bit potty-mouthed!" Carr added that he wanted his own working-class upbringing to be represented in Changing Ends, citing Only Fools and Horses and Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights as influential earlier shows with a similar kind of authentic…

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Ghosts feature film The Possession of Button House reveals new competition with "truly extraordinary" prize for fans
type: item
date: 2026-03-03T17:08:34.000Z
creator: David Craig
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: News
description: Button House is opening its doors for a limited number of lucky fans – here's what you need to know.
encoded: Ghosts fans have the chance to visit the set of upcoming film The Possession of Button House, courtesy of West Horsley Place. The Surrey-based estate has played host to the BBC's hit comedy since it began back in 2019, with its large manor house doubling for the decaying home of Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe). The cast and crew are currently back together for Ghosts feature film The Possession of Button House, which was recently announced to the delight of fans around the world. A limited number of those fans can now enter for the chance to visit the set during a break in filming on either Saturday 21 or Sunday 22 March 2026 (no other dates will be available, so make sure you're free before entering!). West Horsley Place have allotted time for 100 winners to enjoy the "truly extraordinary" visit across those two days, with each ticket permitting entry for the holder and up to three guests. Things to be aware of are that the Ghosts cast will not be present due to a break in filming, and photography won't be allowed during the tour due to a risk of spoilers for the hotly anticipated new story. Entries to the competition can be purchased for £25 via West Horsley Place's website until midnight on Sunday 15 March, or alternatively, a free postal entry can be sent. Winners will be notified within 48 hours of the closing date. The competition is open to UK residents aged 18 or over, but the guests of each adult winner can be of any age, meaning any junior Ghosts enthusiasts would be able to tag along with a lucky adult guardian. The tours are estimated to last for between 90 minutes and two hours, with staggered slots to be assigned between 9:30am and 4:15pm. View Green Video on the source website "Every paid entry will help support West Horsley Place's charitable work, contributing directly to the care, conservation, and protection of this remarkable historic building," the organisers said in the announcement. "This is a rare opportunity to glimps…

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Succession and Pride & Prejudice legend stars in first-look trailer for quirky new comedy drama featuring "technological accident"
type: item
date: 2026-03-03T16:08:39.000Z
creator: Molly Moss
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: News
subject: Sky
description: The comedy-drama is coming to Sky next month.
encoded: Sky has released the first trailer for Succession and Pride & Prejudice star Matthew Macfadyen's new comedy-drama The Miniature Wife. Based on the short story written by Manuel Gonzales, the series follows a married couple who’re left with quite a big (little) problem when Les (Macfadyen) accidentally shrinks his wife in a technological mishap. The show, which stars The Hunger Games's Elizabeth Banks as Les's wife Lindy, examines the “power (im)balances between spouses after a technological accident induces the ultimate relationship crisis,” according to the official synopsis. The new trailer gives fans a first look at how this accident occurs, as Les (MacFadyen) is shown developing a new technology that he hopes will line him up for a Nobel. “I am creating the bio-agritech that will change the world. I call it the miracle of miniaturisation," he says in the footage. But what he doesn't expect it to do is shrink his wife, who gets in the way of an experiment and suffers the effects herself. “So this is my tiny little life now”, she says as she struggles to navigate her massive house, and is forced to fight a housefly with a bow and arrow. Watch the trailer for yourself below: View oEmbed on the source website The cast of the comedy-drama is rounded out by Zoe Lister-Jones (Beau is Afraid), O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale), Sian Clifford (Doctor Who), and Sofia Rosinsky (Paper Girls). Also starring are Ronny Chieng (Crazy Rich Asians), Aasif Mandvi (Evil), Rong Fu (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) and Tricia Black (Small Achievable Goals). Behind the camera, the series has been created by Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner, while Greg Mottola (Superbad) serves as a director on episodes 1, 2, 7 and 8. Macfayden most recently appeared Charles Guiteau in Netflix's historical series Death by Lightning. He's also set to appear in a John le Carré adaptation for the BBC, titled Legacy of Spies, while he recently joined Rachel Weisz in a new adaptation of Seance on a Wet Afterno…

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Toast of London's Matt Berry reveals why he fears another revival for the wacky sitcom
type: item
date: 2026-03-03T15:36:09.000Z
creator: David Craig
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: News
description: Toast has been notably absent since his 2022 trip to Tinseltown.
encoded: Matt Berry has cast doubt on the possibility of another revival for his cult favourite sitcom Toast of London. The series followed aloof actor Steven Toast (Berry) as he navigated an often surreal distortion of London's showbiz scene, including tedious voiceover gigs and frequent bust-ups with his bitter rival, Ray Purchase (Harry Peacock). Toast of London premiered on Channel 4 in October 2013, only a month after The IT Crowd's final episode, which also starred Berry, making it a natural follow-up watch for fans of oddball humour. Ultimately, the show bowed out after three seasons, but received a surprise second life during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it returned with a series of lockdown-era audio skits, which paved the way for a full revival as Toast of Tinseltown. The Hollywood-set sequel drew on Berry's connections from high-profile US work – most notably, What We Do in the Shadows – boasting roles or cameos for the likes of Rashida Jones, Larry David, Paul Rudd and Homer Simpson, among others. Berry gave Radio Times his thoughts on resurrecting the dormant character once again, after Toast of London was shortlisted in our greatest modern British comedy poll (voting is open until Tuesday 24th March). "The main positive of it would be that I'm about the age that Steven Toast always was, and kind of should have been," he explained. "Right from the get go, he was in his late 40s and I was in, I think, my 30s when I first started to play him. "But there's just been crazy work things that have happened since that I didn't expect – and I'm incredibly thankful for. There just hasn't really been any time to think about that character again." View Green Video on the source website In addition to vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows, which ran for six acclaimed seasons, Berry has also bagged roles in Netflix's Disenchantment, Disney's The Book of Boba Fett, Dreamworks' The Wild Robot and Prime Video's Fallout. On Toast of London, Berry wondered aloud whether "t…

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Doctor Who legend Steven Moffat teases new TV show: "It’s the closest thing I’ve done to Press Gang"
type: item
date: 2026-03-02T17:00:03.000Z
creator: Gareth McLean
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: Moffat reflects on his 1989 series Press Gang, while also teasing his upcoming Channel 4 show, Number 10.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Press Gang, the ITV comedy drama that ran from 1989 to 1993 and followed the production of a newspaper for and by young people, was a touchstone piece of children’s television. Quick-witted, gritty when it needed to be, rarely preachy and thoroughly unsentimental, it made an established writer — and Bafta winner — out of Steven Moffat, who wrote all of its 43 episodes, a star out of its lead Julia Sawalha (who would go on to Absolutely Fabulous and Jonathan Creek) and actual journalists out of many of its devoted fans — including myself and Radio Times’s deputy editor. “The show was a self-portrait of the people making it — we were just running around being adults for the first time,” says Moffat today. “What’s fun about bumping into the cast now is that they’re starting to realise I was only slightly older than them. Julia thought I was about 50 or something. I was 26.” For inspiration, Moffat cites Cheers, Moonlighting and The Kids from Fame: “I was just channelling those shows’ wit, speed and exuberance and doing my version.” While he pooh-poohs the idea of an authorial voice — “I’ve never even thought about it. That’s just how I write” — you can hear it in Press Gang’s crackling dialogue, its inventiveness with story, and through characters like Sawalha’s ambitious, courageous but flawed editor Lynda Day. He remembers: “I was always being told, ‘We’ve got to see Lynda’s inner vulnerability,’ and I’d always say, ‘Why?’ I’ve met strong people in my life, and you know what? They’re not particularly vulnerable. When you get Doctor Who right, the Doctor is not looking for your approval and doesn’t particularly think he’s the hero.” He adds: “I’m constantly apologising my way through life. But I’m fascinated by the unrepentant and I’ve written several versions [of them] over the years.” Madeline (played by Karen Gillan) in his 2024 comedy drama, Douglas is Cancelled, is one of those versions. “Madeline’s very much t…

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DTF St Louis is a super weird crime show with a soft underbelly
type: item
date: 2026-03-02T03:00:12.000Z
creator: Abby Robinson
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Comment
subject: HBO Max
subject: On demand
subject: Sky Atlantic
description: Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Linda Cardellini are embroiled in a love triangle that turns deadly in Steve Conrad’s deliciously dark comedy, where people let their freak flags fly.
encoded: **Contains spoilers from episode 1 of DTF St Louis.** More often than not, new shows have a habit of feeling like a version of something you've seen before. Even if it's not a prequel or a sequel, a reboot or a reimagining, there's a flavour, so to speak, that evokes something else. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the crime genre, where it's increasingly rare to find originality – although tried and tested formulas can still deliver satisfying results if executed well. Case in point: Mare of Easttown. But DTF St Louis, a darkly comic murder-mystery airing on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK, feels fresh and uninhibited by what has come before. Created, written and directed by Steve Conrad (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Pursuit of Happyness), the limited series stars Ozark's Jason Bateman ("I appreciate Jason’s commitment to showing the rest of the world how strange the state of Missouri truly is at its core," reads one YouTube comment) and David Harbour as colleagues Clark Forrest, a local weatherman, and Floyd Smernitch, a sign language interpreter. It's not your average crime series dynamic, that's for sure. The pair strike up a friendship after Floyd narrowly stops Clark from being decapitated by a stop sign while reporting on an incoming tornado and they grow close – so close, in fact, that Clark, who's married and has two kids, feels comfortable enough to share a dark secret with Floyd. He's downloaded a hook-up app: DTF St Louis (that's 'down to f**k', for the uninitiated. Fans of Jersey Shore, of which this writer was regrettably one, will already be well acquainted with the term). And he gently encourages Floyd, who's also married (Linda Cardellini plays his wife Carol) to do the same. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/02/0104DTF-StLouisS01-770c68f.jpg" width="6000" height="4000" alt="Two men wearing matching green waterproof jackets with the hoods up and protective goggles stand out in heavy wind …

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