Comedy

With Russell Brand’s continued use as a credibility generator for otherwise ropey projects, he’s fast becoming the programme commissioning equivalent of what Linda Barker once was to home furnishings adverts. When it became obvious that the tragically ill-advised experiment of ‘Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack’ was rapidly spluttering towards a ratings freefall, Channel 4 execs parachuted in the bouffant funny man in a last-ditch bid to try to pull it out of its nosedive. Similarly, when cinematic bigwigs came up with a worrying rewrite of ‘St Trinian’s’, it was, of course, the camp comic they sought in their quest for a touch of trustworthiness as Flash Harry.

With the success of his ‘Booky Wook’ proving that he’s even got the Midas touch when it comes to the world of publishing, it’s beginning to look worryingly like there’s no artform that Brand can’t be used to prop up. Hardly surprising, then, that for Channel 4’s new venture into variety programming they’ve picked him as presenter to eliminate some of the risks of giving airtime to previously untested performers. There’s a selection of new names from the stand-up circuit as well as topical celebrity-based characters from the team behind ‘Star Stories’ in this one-off comedy variety show, but Brand is the headline draw. He’s doing well out of his ubiquity for now, but pretty soon this is an approach he may want to rethink, lest overexposure damage his stock. Don’t just take our word for it: just look at what happened to Linda Barker.

'Comedy Live Presents', Janu 25, 10-11.05pm, Channel 4.
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