A tight 5: November 6

KEN DODD is to be honoured at Bristol's Slapstick festival for vintage comedy next year. He will receive the festival's Legend award, presented with locally-based animation house Aardman, when he performs at the festival on January 25. Previous recipients are Barry Cryer, Dame Edna Everage creator Barry Humphries and June Whitfield.

POP-UP comedy venue The Grotto is to return to London again this Christmas. Promoter Bob Slayer is again taking over 27c Throgmorton Street in the City, once the flagship of J. Lyons & Co Tea Rooms, for three weeks of shows including Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and the annual Weirdo's Christmas panto. Listings.

PREVIOUSLY unseen extracts from Arthur Dent's diary are to be revealed at the Chortle comedy book festival in Crouch End tomorrow. Douglas Adams's biographer Jem Roberts did not even include the archive material in his definitive book about the Hitchhikers' Guide To The Galaxy author. His event takes place at 3.30pm tomorrow as part of a weekend that also features Nicholas Parson, Isy Suttie, Robin Ince, David Baddiel with a book event, Phill Jupitus and Sara Pascoe on what it takes to be a comedian and many more. Full details

EXTRA DATES have been added to Billy Connolly's run at the Hammersmith Apollo early next year. Tickets for the new dates of his High Horse show, on February 2, 3, 5 and 6 went on sale at 10am today. Buy.

MARC MARON is to make a fourth series of his self-titled comedy. The IFC network has ordered another 13 episodes of the show, based on a fictionalised version of the comedian and podcaster's life. Production begins in January for a spring launch. Previous series have been shown on Fox in the UK.

Published: 6 Nov 2015