A tight 5: September 19

A DATE has been set for the unveiling of the Frank Sidebottom statue in his home town of Timperley next month. The bronze statue, created by artist Paulina Skavova, was cast at a foundry in the Czech Republic, and has now been painted ready to take its place in the Manchester suburb on October 20, at 11.37am – an odd time he would often mention in his act. Organisers say: ‘This is going to be a celebration that we have managed to accomplish our aim, but its also a time to reflect the tragic and sad loss of the one and only Chris Sievey the man behind the mask.’ Sievey died in June 2010, at the age of 54.

RUSSELL BRAND is to be guest editor of an edition of The Spectator next month. The comic has previously written an article for the political magazine about why Richard Dawkins was the best argument for God. His friend, and reported love interest, Jemima Khan, is an associate editor of the title.

QI STARS Stephen Fry and Alan Davies have taken part in a scientific experiment to gauge the physical effects opera has on the body. Opera-loving Fry took the more sceptical Davies to a performance of Verdi’s political masterpiece Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera House, where both were hooked up with medical gadgetry to see how they responded. The results will be revealed at an event at the opera house at 6pm on Sunday September 29, live-streamed through the venue’s Twitter feed. Fry said: ‘Hopefully by the end of the evening Alan won’t be the only person persuaded to try opera for the first time.’

FILMING has begun on the first new episodes of Birds Of A Feather in 15 years. Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph have all reunited for the revival – which will be shown on ITV, rather than BBC One, which initially aired it. The series is set to debut in the spring.

EDINBURGH and London venue The Pleasance has struck a deal with Montral’s Just For Laughs comedy festival to programme a strand at next July’s event, to be called The Pleasance @ Zoofest and showcasing international talent.

Published: 19 Sep 2013