Comedy of the Week

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 SpicerGuy: Bill Bailey Hennikay: Max Lester Tony: Tony Gardner Stacia: Rebecca BoeyProducer: Liz Anstee A CPL production for BBC Radio 4

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

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 LabibRecording 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 MillsRecording in front of a live audience at Stevenage Lytton Players TheatreAn Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4Additional information on issues in this episode: https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-incontinence/

"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 HipProducer: Sam Holmes Executive Producer: James Robinson Production Co-ordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries Sound Editor: Joe BayleyA BBC Studios Audio Production

Join Paul for a rollicking pub quiz that mixes witty anagrams with pop culture trivia. Dive into a nostalgic celebration of 2011's highlights and explore quirky historical facts about the periodic table. Hear inspiring Olympic gold medal stories, and learn about a 90-year-old sculptor's journey to space. The blend of humor and trivia, along with personal anecdotes, creates an engaging atmosphere that invites audience participation and evokes fond memories.

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-McLeanFeaturing: Daliso Chaponda, Dr Dana Damian, Thomas Martin and Mr Bob YangWritten by Mel Owen, Pravanya Pillay, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Ben RowseProducers: Tashi Radha and Ben WorsfieldTheme tune composed by Andrew JonesA Large Time production for BBC Radio 4

In this second omnibus episode, comedian Stuart Mitchell examines his own cost of living crisis with a move into the high flying world of banking - and just when he thinks he has it all, the world crashes around him. Stuart gives up everything he has worked so hard for in an attempt to be true to his self and is left wondering if his journey was really worth it, when he's scrambling to pay the bills?Each episode, Stuart looks at a chapter of his own unbelievable, but absolutely true, life story. A working class boy, with huge aspirations, Stuart achieved everything he dreamed of and more. However, he soon came to realise that the cost of having everything was more than he was willing to pay. A morality tale featuring his time working in Westminster, moving to a highly paid job in banking and willingly losing it all to find happiness; Stuart will make us all question the true cost of living.Written and performed by Stuart Mitchell Produced by Lauren MackayAn omnibus version of Episodes 3 and 4 of Stuart Mitchell's Cost of Living

Jack Dee, a seasoned comedian known for his dry wit, joins an imaginative panel with fellow funny folks Miles Jupp and Ria Lina. They dive into the quirky world of word creation, cooking up hilarious new terms for relatable feelings—like the struggle to sound cool or the frustration with endless apps. The guests share amusing stories about trying to stay relevant with language and tackle the absurdity of automation in communication. It's a playful fusion of linguistics and comedy that will leave you laughing and thinking.

Ivo Graham brings 2 more celebrity guests to Radio 4, to tell us about their obsessions.Comedian Fatiha-El Ghorri and Paul Gorton of the hit BBC show 'The Traitors' join Ivo this week. Fatiha El-Ghorri is obsessed with trainers, and judges the audience on theirs while Paul details the hours he spends in his gaming room. Ivo also delves into the audience to find out what their obsessions are, and finally Ivo is joined by a Very Obsessed Person, or 'VOP'. This week, Ailish Morrison comes on to tell us about her unexpected twin passions of cheerleading and Lord of the Rings.Hosted by Ivo Graham Featuring Fatiha El-Ghorri, Paul Gorton and Ailish MorrisonWritten by Ivo Graham and Zoe TomalinAdditional Material by Cody Dahler, Christina Riggs and Peter TelloucheRecorded at the Marylebone Theatre by Duncan Hannant Sound edited by Charlie Brandon-King Production Coordinators: Katie Baum and Jodie Charman Executive Producer: Pete StraussProduced by Gwyn Rhys Davies, a BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4An EcoAudio certified production Show image: Matt Stronge

In the first of two US election specials Pie (Tom Walker) is tackling the thorny issue of democracy and is quickly derailed. As he takes his usual balanced (not) approach to the US presidential candidates Jules (Lucy Pearman) dangles a juicy carrot. There’s a big gig in the offing; if only he can stop ranting about one of the candidates. Can you guess which one? Written and performed by Tom Walker. Additional material by Daniel Abelson and Will FrankenJules …. Lucy Pearman. Sam ….. Aqib Khan Roger ….. Nick Revell Callers ….. Rosie Holt, Ellile Dobing, Daniel Abelson, Will Franken and Ed Kear Original Music ....Jason Read Voiceover .... Bob Sinfield. Producer ….. Alison Vernon-Smith Executive Producer ….. Julian Mayers Production Co-Ordinator ….. Ellie Dobing A Yada-Yada Audio Production for BBC Radio 4