A tight 5: February 5

EDINBURGH's St Andrew Square will not be hosting Fringe events at this year's festival. For the past three years, a Spiegeltent has been erected on the site, run by the owners of the nearby Stand comedy club. However, corporate neighbours such as RBS and Standard Life have insisted the space, which is privately owned, be used for 'quiet enjoyment', so will not be a Fringe space this year, further shifting the festival's centre of gravity to the Old Town. 

IRISH character comedian Katherine Lynch is in talks about making a BBC sitcom about her country singing alter-ego Bernie Walsh. The actress, currently appearing in Dancing With The Stars on RTE, told The Irish Mirror: 'We have a sitcom simmering away in negotiations with the BBC. It’s called Settled, and Singin' Bernie Walsh and her family move in beside an English family who are very posh and cause havoc.'

WILL AND GRACE star Megan Mullally is to play two British dates – as a musician. In her first concert appearance in the UK in seven years, the actress, who plays Karen Walker, and fellow thespian Stephanie Hunt will appear as their song-and-dance duo Nancy and Beht at  London’s Royal Festival Hall on April 20 then followed by Manchester’s Palace Theatre on  April 22. 

THE COMEDY STORE has been named best comedy club in Manchester in the City Life Awards run by the Manchester Evening News.

MICHAEL PALIN is writing a new book about HMS Erebus, which sank in 1845 while seeking a North West Passage across Northern Canada, resulting in the death of all her crew.

Published: 5 Feb 2017