The Week in Comedy: Harry Hill, Frankie Boyle & Nick Helm

Harry Hill has been voted Funniest Male Comedian in the Loaded Laftas 2013.

One section of Harry Hill’s Beano sees Harry go back to school – Bash Street, that is! – where he and his comedian mates…including Jimmy Carr, Michael McIntyre and The Chuckle Brothers. All proceeds will go to Comic Relief. Hill is only the second guest editor in history.

Frankie Boyle and Glenn Wool have released a comedy album together. Download.

Canada’s biggest comedy club chain, Yuk Yuk’s, is producing a sitcom about the ‘desperation and vanity’ of would-be comics on the open-mic circuit. The satire is being broadcasted on YouTube.

21-year-old rappers Rizzle Kicks are also writing a sitcom…that’s ‘kind of funny.’ Cheers, lads.

Lee Ridley, a.k.a. “Lost Voice Guy”, will be performing his first solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. It’ll be at The Stand 4 at 8.10 every night. Ridley is also performing a free show with local act Emily Wood.

Hebburn creator Jason Cook: “There’s going to be two new characters [in season two]. One of the characters is going to change profession, one of the characters will have a mountain to climb, and in the Christmas special you’ll find out what Winnie did.”

David Walliams on local arts cuts: “It’s difficult to say because the counter-argument is that the money is better spent on hospital beds and welfare – and these things do save lives. You can’t say the arts are more important than that because they’re not… Not all art can be commercial, you know… It might be as important as a hospital bed but there’s a place for it.”

Former Giggle Beats writer Red Redmond won the Manchester heat of the Chortle Student competition.

Channel 4 have ordered a second season of Ricky Gervais’ controversial sitcom Derek. Oh good.

Keith Lemon’s spoof reality show Lemon La Vida Loca is also coming back to ITV2 later this year.

Meanwhile, Sky1 sitcom Parents has been cancelled after just one series.

Comedy rock god Nick Helm is making a new TV pilot called The Nick Helm Pilot Spectacular. Three cheers for Nick Helm, please.

Last but not least, in the new, *comedy special* of GQ magazine, Shappi Khorsandi admits: “Female comics don’t get nearly as much post-show glory sex as the men…”

That’s all for this week, folks. Check back every Sunday morning for another brief round-up of the week’s comedy chatter – or get your daily dose on Twitter: @GiggleBeats.