In film, television, and radio, British comedy has produced some of the most renowned characters in the world. In it, satire is one of the features of British comedy. Radio comedy in Britain has been almost exclusively hosted on BBC.
A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on Match Game and Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. The genre can be traced to 1938, when Information Please debuted on U.S. radio. The earliest known television panel show is Play the Game, a charades show in 1946. The modern trend of comedy panel shows can find early roots with Stop Me If You've Heard This One in 1939 and Can You Top This? in 1940. While panel shows were more popular in the past in the U.S., they are still very common in the United Kingdom.
The News Quiz is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 1977. The show, created by John Lloyd from an idea by Nicholas Parsons, has seen several hosts, including Barry Norman, Barry Took, Simon Hoggart, Sandi Toksvig, and Miles Jupp. Andy Zaltzman was announced as the permanent host after series 103. The show involves four panellists, often comedians or journalists, who answer questions about events of the previous week, often leading to humorous and satirical exchanges. The show was adapted for television in 1981 and has also inspired other shows.
Jeremy James Hardy was an English comedian. Born and raised in Hampshire, Hardy studied at the University of Southampton and began his stand-up career in the 1980s, going on to win the Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1988. He is best known for his appearances on radio panel shows such as the News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
The Now Show is a British radio comedy programme on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the weekly news from 1998 to 2024. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. It features regular appearances by Jon Holmes, Laura Shavin, a monologue by Marcus Brigstocke, and music by Mitch Benn, Pippa Evans or Adam Kay. Later series feature a wider range of contributors.
Harry William Thompson was an English radio and television producer, comedy writer, novelist and biographer. He was the creator of the dark humour television series Monkey Dust, screened between 2003 and 2005.
The Chris Moyles Show is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Chris Moyles, originally broadcast as Radio 1 Breakfast from 5 January 2004 to 14 September 2012, before transferring three years later on 21 September 2015 to the Global Radio-owned commercial radio station Radio X. The show is broadcast between 6:30 and 10:00 each weekday.
Natalie Louise Haynes is an English writer, broadcaster, classicist, and comedian.
Andrew Zaltzman is a British comedian who largely deals in political and sport-related material.
Brian Nankervis is an Australian writer, actor, radio host, television producer and comedian. He is one of the co-creators of the music quiz show, RocKwiz and co-hosts The Friday Revue with Jacinta Parsons on ABC Radio.
Matthew Parkinson is an Australian comedian, actor, radio presenter and quiz show personality.
Alun Cochrane is a British comedian, and actor. He was born in Glasgow and raised in Mirfield, West Yorkshire. He was a co-presenter on The Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio (2011–2022).
Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp is an English actor, singer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the inventor Archie in the children's television series Balamory. He also played John Duggan in The Thick of It, Nigel in the sitcom Rev and appeared on many comedy panel shows. Between 2015 and 2019, Jupp was the host of The News Quiz on BBC Radio 4, replacing Sandi Toksvig.
Thomas Paul Allen is an English comedian, actor, writer and presenter. In 2005, he won the So You Think You're Funny contest at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Thomas Francis Gleeson is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter. Gleeson formerly co-hosted The Weekly with Charlie Pickering alongside Judith Lucy and currently hosts Hard Quiz and Taskmaster Australia.
Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha is a British professional quizzer, comedian, doctor and broadcaster. He has written and performed extensively on BBC Radio 4, and is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show The Chase.
David Spicer is a writer, perhaps best known for his BBC Radio 4 comedy series. He has also written for game shows and panel shows and television comedies. He may also be the author of the play Superheroes, based on the protest group Fathers for Justice.
Richard Thomas Osman is an English author, television presenter, producer, novelist, and comedian. He is the creator and former co-presenter of the BBC One television quiz show Pointless. He has presented the BBC Two quiz shows Two Tribes and Richard Osman's House of Games, and been a team captain on the comedy panel shows Insert Name Here and The Fake News Show. He has made appearances on British panel shows including Would I Lie To You? and QI.
Lionel Ramsay Hale was an English critic, broadcaster and playwright.
