A tight 5: July 21

MEANWHILE, the success of the farewell shows have sparked a revival of Monty Python'spamalot show. ric Idle and John Du Prez's show has today announced an 18-city run from January 2015, initially starring Joe Pasquale as King Arthur, Bonnie Langford as The Lady of The Lake and Todd Carty as Patsy. Dates.

PETER KAY will put thee big light on when he switched on the Blackpool Illuminations this year, on Friday August 29. He was previously invited to do the job in 2006 – but a booking mix-up that meant Dale Winton actually did the honours that year, with Kay performing a stand-up set instead.

VEEP and Louis tied for the award for best comedy series at the Television Critics' Association Awards in Los Angeles this weekend. Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus also won best individual performance in comedy.

RUGBY-themed sketch troupe Don’t Drop The Egg have been commissioned to make a series of 64 shorts for internet channel Videojug. The team of Dan Jones, Tom Magnus and Orry Gibbens have previously performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and were commissioned by former ITV comedy boss – and producer of Red Dwarf and The Young Ones – Paul Jackson, who now works for the online platform.

Published: 21 Jul 2014