''Comic's Choice'' is a British comedy
chat show hosted by the
comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...
Bill Bailey
Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...
, and broadcast on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
. The programme ran for a single series of five episodes, and was shown during January 2011. Each episode, Bailey would interview another British comedian, and invite them to discuss some of their favourite comedians or comedy television programmes. The series was produced by
Unique Television Production.
History
''Comic's Choice'' was broadcast in anticipation of the
British Comedy Awards
The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.
The British Comedy Awards (1 ...
, which were being shown on Channel 4 for the first time on 22 January 2011, having been broadcast on
ITV for 20 years – ''Comic's Choice'' was broadcast in the week leading up the event. The five guests on the show were
Alan Davies,
Lee Mack
Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom '' Not Going Out'', being a team captain on th ...
,
Jo Brand,
Jessica Hynes and
Sean Lock. Each guest picked three nominations for various British Comedy Award categories (such as Best Sitcom and Best Male Comic), and would then discuss them and select their winner during the episode. Discussing the show, its producers stated: "With other smaller, alternative categories and audience interaction thrown in, the show will be not just informative and entertaining – but fun, funny and memorable."
Reviews of ''Comic's Choice'' were generally positive, with Steven Cookson of
Suite 101 describing it as "a great deal of fun". Bailey's hosting was praised, with Tom Sutcliffe of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'' calling him the programme's "saving grace", and stating: "
e'sgot a manner that somehow makes the format work." A review of a more critical nature came from Henry Venning of ''
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'', who described the show's format as "flimsy" and "confusing".
Episodes
Winners are given in bold. The Guilty Pleasure category had only one nominee.
References
External links
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Production website
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2013
2010s British comedy television series
2011 British television series debuts
2011 British television series endings
British television talk shows
Channel 4 comedy
English-language television shows
Television shows set in London
2010s British television talk shows