Overnight show broadcast live

The BBC is to screen a live eight-hour overnight comedy marathon from the Edinburgh Fringe.

BBC Three will air the show as ‘red-button’ footage from the corporation’s pop-up venue at the festival over the night of August 17, from 9pm to 5am.

The station’s coverage also includes a 60-minute Comedy@TheFringe special on August 31, with more Edinburgh Fringe highlights programmes in the following weeks.

The BBC announced its Fringe coverage as the programme was launched today. n Radio 4, David Mitchell’s The Unbelievable Truth,Just A Minute, The Horne Section, Loose Ends, Tonight with Rory Bremner and Today will all come from the festival, while Comic Fringes will feature short stories created by comedians

Radio 1's Scott Mills and Nick Grimshaw will present a Fun and Filth Cabaret show, while Radio 2's Steve Wright Show – with Patrick Kielty at the helm - will be broadcast from the festival on August 3. Kielty will return to host the Edinburgh heat of the Radio 2 New Comedy Award on August. 11.

On TV The Culture Show and The Review Show will also feature reports from the Fringe.

The BBC will have its tented festival village in Potterow across August – an extension of the ten days it was open last year – with more than 100 shows taking place there.

Plus the corporation will repeat its comedy masterclasses, which last year gave would-be comics tips from the likes of Miranda Hart and Fred MacAulay.

Published: 31 May 2012