Comedy of the Week

Comedy fans can catch the nominees for The Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2025 in this showcase for BBC Radio 4.Guaranteed to be packed with laughs, this special will be hosted by last year’s Best Comedy Show winner, Amy Gledhill.The prestigious awards is celebrating its 45th year and is recognising a Best Newcomer and a Best Show. In this gala, hosted by 2024 Best Show winner Amy Gledhill, we'll hear from all the nominees to give listeners around the UK the chance to hear the cream of this year’s Edinburgh crop. The gala was recorded at the Gilded Balloon, one of the Edinburgh Fringe’s iconic comedy venues.Nominated for Best Show are: Ian Smith, Katie Norris, Ed Night, Sam Jay, John Tothill, Sam Nicoresti, Creepy Boys and Dan TiernanNominated for Best Newcomer are: Molly McGuinness, Toussaint Douglass, Ada & Bron, Elouise Eftos, Ayoade Bamgboye, Kate Owens and Roger O'Sullivan.Host: Amy Gledhill Producer: Georgia Keating Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow Edited by Giles Aspen Recorded by Sean KerwinRecorded at The Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh. A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.

Stuart Mitchell, a comedian and former banker turned funeral-organiser, takes a humorous dive into the often-overlooked costs associated with dying. He shares personal anecdotes about the hefty expenses related to end-of-life care, revealing that the financial burden can soar over £314,000! With a blend of dark comedy and heartfelt reflections, Stuart discusses the challenges families face when a terminal diagnosis strikes, making us all reconsider if we can truly afford to kick the bucket!

Oliver Callan hosts a panel show in which comedians from both sides of the Irish border and Britain imagine what a united Ireland would look like if it ever happened.This week, Oliver Callan is joined by Neil Delamere, Alison Spittle, John Meagher and Ashley Storrie to debate a new national flag, who the head of state might be and the official, national breakfast.To listen to Part 2: Belfast, search Oliver Callan Bins The Border on BBC Sounds.Producer: Marc McElroy A BBC Northern Ireland Production for Radio 4.

Jeremy Moleskine is the biggest writer in bawdy greetings cards. So when his car veers off the road, his number one fan is on hand to nurse him back to health. But when R&R turns into B&B (belittling and bludgeoning), Jeremy’s agent must track him down with the help of incarcerated lunatic, Clinton Scards.Brace yourself for a psychological thriller as Crybabies bring the big screen to your normal sized radio.To hear more episodes from this series search "Crybabies Present" on BBC Sounds.Written and performed by Michael Clarke, James Gault & Ed Jones.Featuring Chiara GoldsmithProduction Co-ordinator - Laura ShawSound Design by David Thomas and Victoria FreundProducer - Benjamin SuttonExecutive Producer - Joe NunneryA Boffola Pictures production for BBC Radio 4

Today Lindsey is dragged to a rock climbing centre by her athletic friend Jenny which results in a life changing discovery about her over-zealous anatomy. She helps her mum rescue a missing rat and, with the help of Elton John, hosts an intimate funeral.Welcome to the life of the most beautiful princess in all of Birmingham and its surrounding areas. This week Lindsey Santoro has started a diary. But she’s not 13 years old daydreaming about her latest crush and sleepover plans. She’s a 37-year-old no-nonsense Brummy whose days are more likely to involve thrush cream and a bargy with a bus driver. You are cordially invited to step into her world and learn lessons from her lively life.Producer: Sasha Bobak Production Coordinator: Katie Baum Script Editor: Ruth Husko Executive Producer: Pete StraussA BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.

Industry heartthrob and nation's sweetheart Kat is on her way to an exciting product launch in a long car, with long suffering sidekick Alex Macqueen.On the way, she shares the secrets of her success, and how series one of Screen Time made her the most famous woman to ever grace the UK. Now that she's the biggest influencer ever, Kat teaches you how you can stop being a big normo and maximise your online brand. Hear her improve her appearance with a novel technique at the gym, convene a writers room to work out how to appear most relatable, and purify her brand by cutting off an old friend who's just got the worst news a person can receive. He's been cancelled.And she barely thinks about Abbie at all!To listen to more from this series, search "Kat Sadler's Screen Time" on BBC Sounds.CastKat Sadler - Kat Alex MacQueen - Alex Abbie Weinstock - Abbie Al Roberts - Toby Lizzie Davidson - Various Jason Forbes - VariousWritten by Kat Sadler and Cameron LoxdaleProduction Coordinator - Caroline Barlow Executive Producer - Pete Strauss Sound Design - Rich Evans Recorded by Neil Goody at Premises StudiosProduced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.

"Americans have a long history of taking British things and ballsing them up. They took football and added helmets and cheerleaders; they took ice lollies and called them popsicles; and they took James Corden and then sent him back here."Among Ashley’s more unusual hyperfixations is a life-long love of professional wrestling. This special interest was first developed on Saturday afternoons at his grandparents’ house watching Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Kendo Nagasaki. It continued through the 1980s when Britain was invaded by Hulk Hogan and his colleagues from the then WWF (before they lost a court case to the World Wildlife Fund), and Ashley was fortunate enough to be in attendance at the legendary Summerslam show at Wembley Stadium in 1992, which so many British wrestlers have cited as the day that cemented their love of the grunt and grapple business. This undeniably extraordinary spectacle is sometimes called ‘sports entertainment’ - for many people it is neither!When Ashley Blaker was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, one of the most significant aspects of his diagnosis is his propensity for hyperfixation in special interests, which he now realises has entirely shaped his past and which he uses to mine comedy for this new series.It’s no exaggeration to say Ashley’s life has been driven by obsessions. He has variously been a schoolboy with a love of Star Wars and Doctor Who, a wannabe comedian who performed on the London comedy circuit at 16, a trivia nerd who appeared on University Challenge, a history PhD candidate at Cambridge, a BBC producer of hit comedy shows including Little Britain, a fanatical football fan who saw Liverpool play across England and Europe, a strictly Orthodox Jew who went to synagogue three times a day for over ten years, a father of six, and latterly, a heavily tattooed renegade in hiding from his former community.In this series, Ashley takes a comedic look at each of his obsessions in turn, merging personal memoir with a delve into subjects which have yet to be covered in stand-up comedy shows. The result is a series which, while based on the broader topic of neurodiversity, covers it with the lightest of touches and is focused more on Ashley’s individual hyperfixations, lifting the lid on many of the different worlds he’s inhabited.To hear more episodes from this series, search "Ashley Blaker's Hyperfixations" on BBC Sounds.Written and performed by Ashley Blaker co-starring Rosie Holt and Kieran HodgsonScript Editor: Steve Hall Recording engineers: Jerry Peal and Jon Calver Producer: Steve Doherty A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4

Are you excited to watch England and Wales this summer?Comedian and football obsessed Maisie Adam can’t wait for the Euros and wants to capture the magic you only get before a big international tournament. This is her ultimate guide to the Euros and guarantees to get you in the mood for the highs, the lows and the drama of the Women’s Euros 2025.Maisie has encouraged the audience to come in their favourite footie strips, scarves and hats, the sillier the better – just no flares up any arses please. She’s joined by comedians Rhys James and Harriet Kemsley to chat about the glorious summer of footie we have ahead of us. They re-live some of their best/worst Euros moments, play games and give their predictions for the summer – is football coming home again? Plus Maisie gets some very special advice from former Lioness and Euros winner, the one and only Jill Scott MBE.If you can't get enough of the tournament, search ‘Women’s Euros’ on BBC Sounds for more coverage and reaction. Plus you can listen live to the games, including every England and Wales match, on 5 Live and BBC Sounds.Host: Maisie Adam Guests: Rhys James and Harriet Kemsley Producer: Georgia Keating Executive Producer: James Robinson Production Co-ordinator: Jodie Charman Production Assistant: Danita McIntyre Additional material by Matthew Crosby and Eve Delaney Sound Design by Arlie Adlington Recorded by Jerry Peal and Atharva Bankar at Backyard Comedy ClubA BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.

Guests Russell Kane, a vibrant stand-up comedian known for his sharp wit, and Janine Harouni, a Staten Island-born comic and new mother, share hilarious and poignant anecdotes about their moms. Janine reveals the chaos of being swapped at birth and her brother’s bizarre Arizona bunker. Russell offers a comedic take on childbirth and the trials of toddler food. Their candid discussions about family dynamics and maternal influence provide a nostalgic yet humorous exploration of motherhood's complexities.

Henry Normal, a multi-award winning writer and producer known for classics like The Royle Family, takes listeners on a whimsical journey through humanity. He humorously explores the oddities of our morning routines and the absurdities of aging and relationships. With playful anecdotes, he examines memory and shared experiences, celebrating life’s chaos through poetry. Normal brilliantly juxtaposes humor with poignant reflections on love and connection, inviting us to ponder the trivial and profound aspects of existence.