The best of the week's comedy on TV and radio

The week’s comedy on TV and radio.

Sunday January 7

MICHAEL PALIN: A LIFE ON SCREEN: This one-hour documentary looks back on Michael Palin’s long career, based around an in-depth interview filmed at The Reform Club in London. It covers his first ever stand-up gigs at Oxford University and his move into television writing, working on The Frost Report and The Late Show, before Monty Python’s Flying Circus firmly established his comic reputation. And he discusses the challenging transition from acting to TV presenting. John Cleese, David Jason, Connie Booth and Anna Friel are among those who also contribute memories. BBC Two, 9pm

Monday January 8

THE MUSEUM OF CURIOSITY: The panel show for the inquisitive returns for a 12th series, with QI creator John Lloyd being joined new curator Sally Phillips to welcome exhibits for the fictional museum. Guests in episode one include impressionist Rory Bremner. Radio 4, 6.30pm

Tuesday January 9

INSIDE No 9: In the second episode of this series, entitled Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton play comedy double act Cheese & Crackers, reunited for a comeback gig after an acrimonious on-stage split. Sian Gibson guest stars. BBC Two, 10pm.

Wednesday January 10

ANGSTROM: Garth Marenghi creator Matthew Holness stars as Knut Ångström, a brooding alcoholic maverick Swedish detective from the tough streets of Oslo, in this new Scandi-noir spoof from the keyboards of Joel Morris and Jason Hazeley, writers of the Ladybird Books for Grown Ups, Charlie Brooker's ...Wipe and others. Nadia Kamil, Simon Kane, Morgana Robinson, David Reed and Freya Parker co-star. Radio 4, 6.30pm

Thursday January 11

GOOD EVENING: Benedict Cumberbatch plays Dudley Moore in this comic radio play about how the Beyond The Fringe team changed the face of British comedy in the 1960s. Rory Kinnear plays Peter Cook, Matt Addis Alan Bennett and Jonathan Aris Jonathan Miller. First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2008, the 45-minute show was penned by playwright Roy Smiles, who has a penchant for writing about old comics, with previous works about the Goons, the Pythons and Tony Hancock. Radio 4 Extra, 11.15am

Friday 12 January

RICK AND MORTY: The second series of the cult sci-fi sitcom comes to Comedy Central… albeit it two-and-a-half years behind the US. In this opening episode they muck around with time, freezing it and splitting the universe into multiple timelines that need to be stitched back together. Comedy Central, 10.30pm

THE BIG FAT QUIZ OF EVERYTHING: Jimmy Carr asks questions covering 100,000 years of human history to Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Claudia Winkleman, Miranda Hart, Jonathan Ross and Nish Kumar. Channel 4, 9pm.

Published: 7 Jan 2018