Chopped and changed: programmes that are coming back with new faces

 

Many of those that have survived the current comedy churn, however, are going through significant upheaval. 

 

The latest news is that I Haven't Seen Star Wars is moving to BBC Two, hosted by Jo Brand. The show, which gets celebrity guests to try out things they would normally avoid, has had a long radio run and one series on BBC Four with Marcus Brigstocke. Brigstocke and Brand are quite similar in presenting styles – one third knowing, one third grating, one third unexpectedly funny – so we're not entirely convinced this will make a massive difference to the low quality of the first telly series. The pilot is recording on September 24 so we should get a better idea then. 

 

Dave's Argumental is undergoing the most significant changes – hell, everyone thought it was axed until a few weeks ago – with the underpowered John Sergeant replaced by Sean Lock as host. Robert Webb is taking up one team captainship, with the other still to be announced. That means that (1) Marcus Brigstocke and Rufus Hound have been ditched against their wishes, and (2) it sure as heck isn't Brigstocke's year.  

 

Room 101 is also back in its third TV incarnation, with Frank Skinner taking over the franchise from Paul Merton and, long before he started using a Morrison's trolley as some sort of cut-price zimmer frame, Nick Hancock.

 

Radio isn't immune either: Newsjack, Radio 4 Extra's satire show with an open door to sketch ideas, is switching hosting duties from Miles Jupp to Justin Edwards, following on from a successful summer run on Fast and Loose. Presumably the show has some kind of 'posh, affable and hilarious' quota to fill. (Fun research discovery: Edwards is married to Lucy Porter! Well, Wikipedia says he is, but then again it also listed us on the Violent and Sex Offender Register for several months so we possibly shouldn't necessarily believe that.)

 

(Just for clarity's sake, we're NOT on the real Violent Sex Offender Register.)

 

Lastly, Banter, the Radio 4 panel show, is also returning. It was once hosted by the pop culture version of Mark Steel, Andrew Collins, who was a good fit for a show that asked guests to compile definitive top threes in given subjects. Now it's being turned into a TV pilot, but with Rebecca Front hosting – no, we can't picture that either, but we couldn't when she joined The Thick of It and that turned out pretty well – and with the hardest working men in panel show comedy, Russell Howard and Chris Addison, serving as team captains.