Henry Normal: ‘Comedy’s like sugar. It makes things better but I wouldn’t eat it on its own’

The producer whose TV hits include The Royle Family and Gavin and Stacey on finding the poignancy in life’s little moments, and heading back to the comedy circuit with his poetryComedians become actors, pop stars become TV presenters … we’re used to ar…

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Joe Lycett: ‘I’m being ghosted by Peppa Pig’

The comedian, 33, talks about funny anger, homophobic hecklers, selling soffits and his trouble with Heinz pasta shapesAnger is a funny emotion. That’s how I accidentally got my consumer show. In my stand-up set, I’d read out my complaint letters. My g…

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Joe Lycett: ‘I’m being ghosted by Peppa Pig’

The comedian, 33, talks about funny anger, homophobic hecklers, selling soffits and his trouble with Heinz pasta shapesAnger is a funny emotion. That’s how I accidentally got my consumer show. In my stand-up set, I’d read out my complaint letters. My g…

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Pose star Sandra Bernhard: ‘I never tried to be revolutionary. That’s just who I was’

The trailblazing actor and comedian on asserting her bisexuality in the 80s, misogynistic male comics – and befriending MadonnaDuring nearly five decades in showbiz, Sandra Bernhard has racked up title after title – comedian, actor, singer, author, rad…

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Pose star Sandra Bernhard: ‘I never tried to be revolutionary. That’s just who I was’

The trailblazing actor and comedian on asserting her bisexuality in the 80s, misogynistic male comics – and befriending MadonnaDuring nearly five decades in showbiz, Sandra Bernhard has racked up title after title – comedian, actor, singer, author, rad…

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Pose star Sandra Bernhard: ‘I never tried to be revolutionary. That’s just who I was’

The trailblazing actor and comedian on asserting her bisexuality in the 80s, misogynistic male comics – and befriending MadonnaDuring nearly five decades in showbiz, Sandra Bernhard has racked up title after title – comedian, actor, singer, author, rad…

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Comic Alistair Green on his middle England satire: ‘I don’t want to be really mean’

From foul-mouthed ad spoofs to reading Fifty Shades to his gran, the ‘front-facing camera comic’ has become a legend in his own living roomEven if he wanted to, Alistair Green can’t redecorate his living room. The plain white walls that backdrop the co…

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Comic Alistair Green on his middle England satire: ‘I don’t want to be really mean’

From foul-mouthed ad spoofs to reading Fifty Shades to his gran, the ‘front-facing camera comic’ has become a legend in his own living roomEven if he wanted to, Alistair Green can’t redecorate his living room. The plain white walls that backdrop the co…

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Mrs Merton and the naughty nun: Caroline Aherne’s first comedy gigs

She sometimes said she’d rather be a hairdresser but Aherne’s cheeky early appearances in the pubs and clubs of Manchester led her to TV fameIn the early 90s, Manchester’s cultural revolution was in full swing. “Everything was thriving,” remembers acto…

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‘Explosively funny’: Victoria Wood’s song-filled slog to comedy glory

Joyce Grenfell inspired her, she wrote her own musical at school and a fringe theatre show with Julie Walters paved the way to TV fame. As Victoria Wood’s Talent returns, we revisit her early stage yearsAnyone who has watched her in Dinnerladies or rec…

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