A tight 5: July 28

CHANNEL 4 has escaped censure from TV watchdogs Ofcom for airing an episode of The Simpsons containing the word 'bastard' at 6pm. In April it broadcast a scene in which Krusty The Clown gets irate with the GPS system on his boat, throws it overboard and says: 'Tell me where you are now, you bastard!' Seven viewers complained but accepted the broadcaster's apology and explanation that it was aired because of human error.

RUSSELL KANE, Richard Herring,Carl Donnelly and Tom Craine will be performing live gigs on Virgin Atlantic flights from London to Edinburgh this month to mark the Fringe. Kane is up first, on the 11:20 flight out of Heathrow on Friday.

REVIEWER Bruce Dessau has written a Bluffer’s Guide to Stand-Up Comedy, which is released today in time for the Edinburgh Fringe. The £6.99 book aims to decode the lingo of the business, explaining such terms as 'slam', 'gag hag' and 'rule of three'. Buy

CHARLIE BROOKER is launching a production company with his executive producer Annabel Jones to make new entertainment shows. Like his other company, Zeppotron, House of Tomorrow will operate as part of Endemol. 'The one thing the world doesn't need is yet more entertainment, but unfortunately for the world that's what we're hell-bent on producing,' Brooker said. 'We'll produce fun in all its guises, whether that be the laugh-a-minute gaiety of Black Mirror, the show-stopping musical stylings of Weekly Wipe, or some hitherto-untested form of amusement that just about fits on a screen.'

JOHNNY VEGAS has picked up his Honorary Doctor of Literature from Edge Hill University near his native St Helens. Collecting his degree, the comic – real name Michael Pennington – said: 'The hardest thing I ever did was write a book. Outside of my son and loved ones, it is one of my proudest achievements and I honestly can’t tell you what it means to now have an Honorary Doctorate in Literature.'

Published: 28 Jul 2014