WTF: Weekly Trivia File

• 'You never look back fondly at your early stand-up. It is a harrowing experience. You're standing out the back and looking at people who look like they'll smash your face in if you don't make them laugh.' Stephen Merchant.

• Some heckles can stay with a comedian forever. For Australian Harley Breen, pictured that will literally be true… for he will have the best heckle of his gig tomorrow tattooed on to himself, live on stage. The stunt will take place at the raucous late-night show Heckle! at the Adelaide Fringe, which actively encourages audience members to yell things out. Breen told us: 'Why am I doing it? Why not? I am planning on getting the tattoo on my leg so it makes performing easier. Will I regret it? There's no time for that shit!'

• The big political parties are often accused of parachuting favoured candidates into winnable seats – Boris Johnson, anyone? – but today Al Murray will literally parachute into the constituency of South Thanet to meet potential voters.  'I will be showing full commitment to parachuting in to the constituency,' the FUKP candidate and Pub Landlord said. From 12,000ft. (not 3,657.6 metres)'. He will then address the electorate at the New Inn in Sandwich where, appropriately enough, he will serve some beautiful British sandwiches. 'No baguettes,' he insists.

• 'I don't know why anyone would go to the theatre instead of the cinema,' says Irish comedian David McSavage. 'It's like eating a pine cone when you have a banana sitting right there.' That will surely come as music to the ears of the produces of the stage play,  The Pillowman, now being staged in Dublin's Gaiety Theatre. which stars one David McSavage…

• Earlier this week we carried a Correspondents article from Michael J Buchanan-Dunne explaining there is no such thing as a laugh track in modern TV. Since then we showed him this clip from Comedy Central UK’s I Live With Models. 'I stand corrected,' he said. 'Wow. That's... (checks calendar to see what year it is)... horrific.'

• Jason Manford this week said the BBC should never have made public its policy of always having a women on its panel shows as it smacked of tokenism. Then, in the very same interview, added of his own comedy clubs: 'We always make sure there's a female either on the bill or a female MC '

• If you should never meet your heroes, you probably shouldn't play them your stand-up either. Chris Rock appeared alongside former Foster's comedy award best newcomer Matt Okine on Australia's Triple J radio station this week – and Okine started boasting of his stand-up. Then they played a clip of it. 'It's cute' said Rock, more than slightly condescendingly. Watch:

• Tweets of the week
Mark Colivin  (@): iOS 8? Not on my watch
James Martin   (@Pundamentalism): Just met someone else who doesn't know what a globe is. It's a small world.
Marty Lawrence  (@TeaAndCopy):  My friend is spreading rumours that I suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder. Well three can play at that game!

Published: 13 Mar 2015