...based entirely on gags

John Bishop is to host a new stand-up show in which members of the public will crack their favourite jokes.

The ten-part Sky One series, John Bishop’s Only Joking will put the emphasis on gags over each half-hour episode.

Celebrities and comedians, both old-school new, will join the amateurs in telling the jokes. It will be recorded in front of a live audience, with the public telling their jokes on video – a similar mix of live and recorded footage as used in the BBC One show John Bishop’s Britain.

Bishop – who has previously worked with Sky on A League Of Their Own – is also one of the executive producers on the new Sky show, which will be made by his own production company Lola Entertainment, along with Channel X.

He said: ‘This is a great opportunity to make a show that allows everyone to join in the joke. I’m really looking forward to working with everyone involved.’

Phil Edgar Jones, Sky’s head of entertainment, added: ‘If there’s one person who’s guaranteed to put a smile on our faces, it’s John Bishop.

’We’re thrilled to be working with him, and the team at Lola Entertainment and Channel X on this exciting new show which will, almost literally, deliver a laugh a minute.’

Published: 7 Jun 2012