A satirical smorgasbord of The News Quiz's best bits of the year, covering local elections, flag fever, Starmer's struggles, Trump's travails, and a very special meeting between King Charles and Pope Leo XIV.

To hear more episodes of The News Quiz, search "Friday Night Comedy" on BBC Sounds.

Written and presented by Andy Zaltzman.

Producer: Rajiv Karia Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4 An Eco-Audio certified Production

Chloe Slack presents an Anniversary Special celebrating 81 years of Time Of The Week alongside former host Ruth Paul (special guest Ellie White). Plus: items on Tall Sons, viral dances and we answer the question ‘Do women feel storms more than men?’

Sian Clifford stars as self-important journalist Chloe Slack in this comedy series parodying women’s current affairs and talk shows, surrounded by an ensemble cast of character comedians.

Chloe Slack - Sian Clifford Ruth Paul - Ellie White

Ensemble cast: Ada Player Alice Cockayne Aruhan Galieva Ayoade Bamgboye Caroline Elms Em Prendergast Jodie Mitchell Jonathan Oldfield Lorna Rose Treen Mofé Akàndé

Created by Lorna Rose Treen and Jonathan Oldfield

Writing team: Alice Cockayne Jodie Mitchell Jonathan Oldfield Lorna Rose Treen Priya Hall Will Hughes

Script Editors - Lorna Rose Treen and Jonathan Oldfield Photographer - Will Hearle Producer - Ben Walker

A DLT Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4

I Don’t Do…Christmas! is a brand new, gloriously mischievous panel show for people who’d, well, rather not.

Julian Clary hosts a yuletide celebration like no other, joined by comedians Jo Brand, Glenn Moore and Fatiha El-Ghorri, with special guest Gareth Malone.

Hosted and Created by Julian Clary

Featuring: Jo Brand, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Glenn Moore Special Guest: Gareth Malone

Additional Material: Andrew White

Sound: David Thomas Production Manager: Laura Shaw Producer: Charlie Dinkin Executive Producer: Benjamin Sutton

A Daddy’s Superyacht production for BBC Radio 4

Comedian and folk musician David Eagle (of the three time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Winning group "The Young'uns") brings his brand new comedy show to Radio 4. In episode 1 of 'See No Eagle', David's unpacking his childhood, from those memorable moments of his first go at the keyboard, to gracing the stage for the very first time (headlining the Teddy Bears picnic).

Written and performed by David Eagle.

Editor: David Thomas Production Co-ordinator: Jodie Charman Producer: Rajiv Karia

Frank & guests Dee Allum, Hasan Al-Habib, Marcus Brigstocke & Bella Hull discuss the most fashionable way to wear a pizza, the most unfashionable way to wear a Tam o’Shanter and the tallest swimming trunks in the world

This is the panel game based on what we all sit down and do at least once a day – shop online and leave a review, as an all-star panel celebrate the good, the bad & the baffling

Everyone has an online life, and when the great British public put pen to keyboard to leave a review, they almost always write something hilarious. And our all-star panel have to work out just what they were reviewing – and maybe contribute a few reviews of their own... and more... So if you’re the person who went on Trip Advisor to review Ben Nevis as “Very steep and too high”, this show salutes you!

This is the second episode of series three of One Person Found This Helpful. To hear more episodes, just search "One Person Found This Helpful" on BBC Sounds.

Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer & Peter Tellouche

Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans with the producer David Tyler

A Pozzitive Production for BBC Radio 4

Marley wants to join a new gym with a legendary trainer. Unfortunately, he can’t afford the fees. Meanwhile Taylor needs an interesting character to write about – Angie thinks she knows just the person.

Created by Travis Jay, Rum Punch is an award-winning sitcom that follows a multigenerational family as they juggle pursuit of their individual ambitions with their responsibilities to the family business - a Caribbean restaurant in the heart of Lewisham.

Rum Punch cast:

Charlie - Ninia Benjamin Des - Kevin Garry (KG Tha Comedian) Taylor - Kyrah Gray Lydia - Letitia Hector Marley - Travis Jay Angie - Angie Le Mar Delroy - Eddie Nestor

Writer – Travis Jay Additional Material – Danielle Vitalis Script Editor – Atlanta Green Sound Engineer – David Thomas Editor – David Thomas Production Assistant – Sahar Malaika Rajabali, Eunice Oshiguwa, Jessica Fatoye Producers – Daisy Knight and Jules Lom Executive Producers – Richard Allen-Turner and Jon Thoday

An Avalon Television Production for BBC Radio 4

Ever had a text from a non-existent offspring? A call from someone claiming to be from your bank? Or an email from a Nigerian prince….? Cop turned comic Alfie Moore is here to guide you through the modern world of scams.

With him, as always, are his audience of sworn in deputies, who’ll help him pick his way through some true crime conundrums, as part of the BBC’s Scam Safe Week.

Written and presented by Alfie Moore Script Editor: Will Ing Production Co-ordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu Producers: James Robinson and Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4

Tom and Lauren are getting ready to go on holiday together. Unfortunately Tom has never flown with a budget airline before and doesn't realise that suitcases and carry-on are extras. Lauren is struggling to choose which clothes to leave behind, because she's worried about being judged by other women and she refuses to do laundry while she's on holiday.

Tom is mortified to discover that he needs to pay extra for them to be seated together while Lauren is dismayed at the prospect of hours in a middle seat with a giant on one side and chronic B.O. on the other.

Neil drops by to ask Tom to sort out some cardboard that Lauren has left in the bin store because "she's not a great Greta", so Tom asks him to water Lauren's plants while they're away - much to Lauren's horror.

Cast: Tom Machell as Tom Lauren Pattison as Lauren Julian Clary as Neil

Writers: Tom Machell & Lauren Pattison Director: Katharine Armitage Recording Engineer: Philip Quinton Sound Design: Philip Quinton Theme Music: Scrannabis Producers: Maria Caruana Galizia & Zahra Zomorrodian A Candle & Bell production for BBC Radio 4

Scott Bennett: Blood Sugar Baby tells the amazing true story of Scott and Jemma Bennett’s infant daughter Olivia and her battle with a rare genetic condition, how she was nearly fatally misdiagnosed and how Scott challenged the hospital to improve their care - by taking his dad’s advice to “Put a tie on”.

First-time parents Scott and Jemma are taken from the apparently idyllic world of having a new-born baby who sleeps through the night and suddenly plunged into months of misguided treatments, genetics, bizarre side effects and private jets.

Recorded in Scott and Jemma’s home town of Nottingham - where the real-life story began - this is an emotional show about a critically ill baby but it’s also a really funny one with a happy and hopeful ending.

Written and Performed by Scott Bennett

Produced by Ben Walker

A DLT Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4

Jon Long and Dr Tara Shine join forces for more of the hybrid comedy-magazine show that emits jokes and facts that (carbon) capture all things climate to demystify the issues and offer advice on how to make positive choices in our everyday lives.

This week - The Carbon Cost of Tech, The Internet and AI with special guests Chris McCausland and Mike Berners-Lee.

In previous episodes, we’ve covered Food, Travel and Christmas, so what’s next? Well, it turns out that our previous episodes did not solve the climate crisis on their own. So, for this series, we will be looking at the topics of Tech and AI, Waste Management and Recycling, and The Fashion Footprint.

Expect new in-studio guests and on-location experts, more games, more practical advice, more cold hard stats, and the return of Greenwash of the Week to shout out the heroes and villains of the climate crisis.

Presenters: Jon Long and Dr Tara Shine Guests: Chris McCausland and Mike Berners-Lee Producer: Laura Grimshaw Executive Producer: Jon Holmes Live Sound: Jerry Peal Post-production Sound: Tony Churnside

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4.

The team look at human hobbies and wonder, what is the point?

Gareth goes on a date, purely for research purposes, and roving reporter Phil is back at the Swindon nest to observe his favourite family...from a safe and morally appropriate distance.

To listen to more episodes from this series, search "Humanwatch" on BBC Sounds.

Written and presented by Marjolein Robertson and Gareth Waugh

With Phil Ellis and Katia Kvinge

Additional voice by Kai Humphries

Produced by Lauren Mackay

Sound by Fraser Jackson

Photographer: Chris Quilietti

A BBC Scotland production for Radio 4.

First stop of the new series is Oakham, nestled in the UK’s smallest county – Rutland.

Rutland has a village that's proudly twinned with Paris (even if the Parisians don’t know), has Europe’s largest man-made lake (which required flooding a local village) and hangs its horseshoes the other way round (so the devil falls out, obviously).

Joining Mark is Clare Balding, who’s also in town to take him on a ramble around Rutland.

This is the 14th series of Mark's award winning show where he travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience. As well as Oakham, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Wrexham, Cambridge, Lewisham and, Lerwick and Unst in Shetland.

To hear more episodes from this series, search "Mark Steel's In Town" on BBC Sounds.

Written and performed by Mark Steel

Additional material by Pete Sinclair Production co-ordinator Caroline Barlow and Katie Baum Sound Manager Jerry Peal Producer Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios production for Radio 4

Paul Sinha tests his audience in Leicester on their knowledge of their home county, Trivial Pursuit-style - with all the colours of questions, from geography to entertainment, getting asked. Can they fill the wedges, and can Paul answer their favourite questions, about crisps, bells and cricket?

To hear more episodes, search "Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz" on BBC Sounds.

Written and performed by Paul Sinha Additional material: Oliver Levy Additional questions: The Audience

Original music: Tim Sutton

Recording engineer: Jerry Peal Mixed by: Rich Evans Producer: Ed Morrish

A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4

Ken receives some bad news that requires him to spend more time at home and Achi is forced to cover his role with unexpected, rather peculiar consequences. Meanwhile Harriett furiously searches for a way to plug a hole in the charity’s finances.

Garrett Millerick’s ensemble sitcom Do Gooders returns for another series. The show takes us back behind the curtain of fictional mid-level charity, The Alzheimers Alliance, as the fundraising events team continue their struggle for survival. Cue more office feuds, more workplace romances and more catastrophic fundraising blunders – all par for the course when trying to ‘do good’ on an industrial scale.

To listen to more episodes, search "Do Gooders" on BBC Sounds.

Cast

Gladys – Kathryn Drysdale Lauren – Ania Magliano Clive – Garrett Millerick Harriett – Fay Ripley Achi – Ahir Shah Ken – Frank Skinner

Writer – Garrett Millerick Additional Material – Andrea Hubert Sound Engineer – David Thomas Editor – David Thomas Production Assistant – Jenny Recaldin Producer – Jules Lom Executive Producers – Richard Allen-Turner, Daisy Knight, Julien Matthews, Jon Thoday

An Avalon Television Production for BBC Radio 4

Former-forensic-scientist-turned-stand-up-comedian Ria Lina examines the gap between the science we’re sold by the wellness industry and the science that’s done in a lab – particularly when it comes to treatments that boast anti-aging effects.

This episode, she’s joined by comedian Geoff Norcott to see if Microneedling can make their faces look any younger.

Featuring Ria Lina and Geoff Norcott Written by Ria Lina and Steve N Allen Produced by Ben Walker

A DLT Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4

Comedian Glenn Moore looks in his almanac at world events and what he was doing at the time. In this episode, a deadly spy operation causes Glenn to suspect his completely innocent Russian flatmate who just happens to have a novelty cigarette lighter in the shape of a gun. And not a novelty gun in the shape of a cigarette lighter.

Perhaps best-known for his outrageously brilliant one-liners on Mock The Week , Glenn delivers a tale of comic mishaps and extraordinary scenes interwoven with a big event in history – and looks back through his almanac to find out other strange connections to the day as well.

This is the first episode of the Second series of Glenn Moore's Almanac. To hear more episodes, search "Stand-Up Specials" on BBC Sounds.

Written by Glenn with additional material by Katie Storey (Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, The Last Leg) and produced and directed by David Tyler (Cabin Pressure, Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive, etc)

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4

2025's instalment of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is forty-five minutes of the funniest things John thought of in the last year, performed by John and his regular cast of Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan, with composer Susannah Pearse at the piano and Sally Stares on the cello.

Please note that listening to these sketches about seahorses, time travel and sirens may cause side effects, unless you're listening to the placebo version of the show.

Written and performed by … John Finnemore Ensemble … Margaret Cabourn-Smith Ensemble … Simon Kane Ensemble … Lawry Lewin Ensemble … Carrie Quinlan

Original music … Susannah Pearse Piano … Susannah Pearse Cello … Sally Stares

Recording … Jerry Peal & Jon Calver Editing … Rich Evans

Production Manager … Katie Baum Executive Producer … Richard Morris

Producer … Ed Morrish

John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme is a BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.

We return to Icklewick one year after the explosive events of Mischief Night. With Amy’s whereabouts still unknown and the rest of the team scattered, Chris has been struggling to keep Icklewick FM on the air from his home studio.

Things are deffo looking bleak until he receives a mysterious call from Mainland Europe...

Icklewick FM is created and written by Chris Cantrill and Amy Gledhill, with additional material from the cast.

To listen to more episodes from this series, search "Ickelwick FM" on BBC Sounds.

Starring: Amy Gledhill Chris Cantrill Mark Silcox Colin Hoult Janice Connolly Phil Ellis Tom Lawrinson Tom Burgess Nicola Redman Tai Campbell Em Humble James Carbutt

Series Artwork by Sam O'Leary

Music, sound design and additional material by Jack Lewis Evans. Line Produced by Laura Shaw Produced by Benjamin Sutton. A Daddy’s Superyacht production for BBC Radio 4

Returning in its original one-to-one incarnation, Paul Merton interviews a variety of guests from the world of comedy and entertainment to find out what they would send to Room 101. This week Paul welcomes Richard Ayoade.

Comedy fans can catch the nominees for The Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2025 in this showcase for BBC Radio 4.

Guaranteed to be packed with laughs, this special will be hosted by last year’s Best Comedy Show winner, Amy Gledhill.

The prestigious awards is celebrating its 45th year and is recognising a Best Newcomer and a Best Show. In this gala, hosted by 2024 Best Show winner Amy Gledhill, we'll hear from all the nominees to give listeners around the UK the chance to hear the cream of this year’s Edinburgh crop. The gala was recorded at the Gilded Balloon, one of the Edinburgh Fringe’s iconic comedy venues.

Nominated for Best Show are: Ian Smith, Katie Norris, Ed Night, Sam Jay, John Tothill, Sam Nicoresti, Creepy Boys and Dan Tiernan

Nominated for Best Newcomer are: Molly McGuinness, Toussaint Douglass, Ada & Bron, Elouise Eftos, Ayoade Bamgboye, Kate Owens and Roger O'Sullivan.

Host: Amy Gledhill Producer: Georgia Keating Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow Edited by Giles Aspen Recorded by Sean Kerwin

Recorded at The Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh. A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.