The best of the week's comedy on TV and radio

The best of the week's comedy on TV and radio.

Sunday December 22

CUNK & OTHER HUMANS ON 2019: Philomena Cunk and Barry Shitpeas - as previously seen on Charlie Brooker’s Wipe programmes - are joined by some other talking heads to take a look back at the events of the past 12 months. Bite-sized chunks that have been broadcast over the past week are here compiled into one meaty programme. May include Brexit, Joker, Brexit, Theresa May, Brexit, Prince Andrew, Brexit, climate change, Corbyn v Johnson, Trump, Brexit, Game Of Thrones, Brexit and - time permitting - Brexit. BBC Two, 10.45pm.

COMEDIANS AT KING’S This stand-up show - taped at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow, last year - was conceived as a showcase for more established circuit acts that organiser John Moloney felt were being overlooked by TV producers always on the look-out for the hot new things. The first of two installments features Fred MacAulay, Jo Caulfield, Janey Godley, Brian Higgins and Michael Redmond. Except for viewers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland… Read our review of the night here. BBC Scotland, 10.30pm

Monday December 23

THE GOES WRONG SHOW: THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS: The Mischief Theatre Company, which has been the big success story of the West End in the past few years, start their series of accident-prone BBC One half-hours with a timely story story of Santa and his elves trying to bring festive happiness to a sad little girl and her constantly-fighting parents. What could go wrong? Everything, obviously. BBC ONE, 7.30pm.

THE MUSEUM OF CURIOSITY: JK Rowling- who probably wasn’t a controversial choice when she recorded this - is the big guest in the Christmas edition of the panel show, hosted by John Lloyd and ‘curator’ Bridget Christie. Also figuratively bringing in items of interest for the fictional museum are music producer Glyn Johns and comedian Shazia Mirza. Radio 4, 6.15pm

8 OUT OF 10 CATS DOES COUNTDOWN CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Sean Lock and Bob Mortimer take on Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont, with guests Adam Buxton and Joe Wilkinson. Channel 4, 9pm.

THE RELUCTANT LANDLORD CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Much to the horror of the pub’s regulars, Romesh announces that he is closing for Christmas so he can get some peace and quiet. Let’s see how that pans out… Sky One, 10pm

Tuesday December 24

NOT GOING OUT - DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS: In this seasonal special episode of Lee Mack’s long-running sitcom, our hero and his long-suffering wife Lucy (Sally Bretton) pop out on a last-minute Christmas Eve mission for the kids, which soon turns into chaos. BBC One, 10pm

THE JONATHAN ROSS SHOW: A major break for comedian Bec Hill as she makes her debut on the high-profile show alongside Rita Ora, David Tennant, Jamie Cullum, Sharon Osbourne, Rylan Clark-Neal and David Oleyowo. ITV, 9pm

Wednesday December 25

GAVIN & STACEY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: The long-awaited comeback is the clear highlight of all the Christmas programming. In a delightful hour, viewers are taken to Wales for the festivities, where Bryn is cooking dinner for both families, although Pam would secretly prefer to spend Christmas in Essex as she finds Gwen’s house a bit lacking. For Gavin and Stacey, parenthood continues to present challenge, while Smithy continues to make the journey to Barry at weekends and every second Wednesday to see 12 year-old Neil the Baby and his muim, Nessa. Read what the cast have to say about the revival here. BBC One, 8.30pm

A VERY John Kearns CHRISTMAS: The comedian shares genuine audio recordings of his family’s Christmas dinners in this half-hour, which originated as a live show at London’s Battersea Arts Centre in 2016 (Read our review of that show here. Listeners will hear his relatives pick over the bones of Midnight Mass, dissect jokes, lament the quality of fish and chips and mourn discontinued bus routes, interspersed with Kearns’ award-winning stand-up. Radio 4. 4.30pm

CARRY ON...: Have you ever seen such a big one?ITV3 screens a mammoth 14 Carry On films over the next three days, starting with Carry On Abroad ITV, 10.25am

Saturday December 28

PUCKOON: Ed Byrne stars in this new version of Spike Milligan’s classic satire on the division of Ireland, alongside Pauline McLynn, Kate Harbour, Jane Milligan and Barry Cryer as The Author. Published in 1963, Puckoon has sold more than six million copies and tells of bureaucrats putting the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic right through the middle of the small town of Puckoon. Radio 4, 2.30pm

THE ARTS HOUR HOLIDAY COMEDY: For the third year running, BBC World Service will be celebrating the New Year by showcasing comedians from around the world… although most of them now conveniently live in the UK. Malawian stand-up Daliso Chaponda hosts the international line-up which includes Denmark’s Sofie Hagen, New Yorker Janine Harouni, English-Asian Eshaan Akbar, half-Kenyan, half-English Masud Milas, Australia’s Brodi Snook, Iranian-German Enissa Amani and Malaysia’s Nigel Ng. BBC Word Service, 8pm

Published: 22 Dec 2019