Sketchorama

Humphrey Ker is himself an established sketch performer, writer, actor and comedian who won the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh festival in 2011. For five years he was part of the much-loved sketch trio The Penny Dreadfuls, with whom he wrote and performed in a string of Edinburgh festival smashes, two series on BBC7 and two plays for Radio 4.

The sketch groups featured in episode one of Sketchorama are:

Delete the Banjax: Writer/performers Caroline May-Jones, Daniel Cook, Gareth Cooper and Samuel Champion. They've enjoyed three critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, picking up a ThreeWeeks Editors Award at Ed Fringe 2010 and, with their charmingly chaotic performance style, have become one of the most talked about comedy acts on the circuit.

Lady Garden: The all-female group are Beattie Edmondson, Rose Johnson, Eleanor Thom and Camille Ucan. Since their Edinburgh debut in 2008, their fast-paced shows filled with fantastic character creations have received widespread praise from audiences and critics alike.

Idiots of Ants: Andrew Spiers, Elliott Tiney, Benjamin Wilson and James Wrighton. Since forming in 2007, they have gone on to sell-out four Edinburgh festivals and a run in London's prestigious West End. They have attracted a staggeringly large internet following, with their 'Facebook in real life' and 'Wii Breakfast' sketches achieving multi-million hits.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

Humphrey Ker presents sketch groups Delete the Banjax, Lady Garden and Idiots of Ants.

Humphrey Ker is himself an established sketch performer, writer, actor and comedian who won the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh festival in 2011. For five years he was part of the much-loved sketch trio The Penny Dreadfuls, with whom he wrote and performed in a string of Edinburgh festival smashes, two series on BBC7 and two plays for Radio 4.

The sketch groups featured in episode two of Sketchorama are:

The Noise Next Door: Tom Houghton, Charlie Granville, Matt Grant, Tom Livingstone and Sam Pacelli have been performing their own distinctive brand of off-the-cuff comedy for over six years. They have an uncanny knack of transforming audience suggestions into fantastically funny scenes and songs in the blink of an eye, with a perfect blend of ludicrous characters, witty one-liners and epic stories.

The Boom Jennies: A trio featuring Lizzie Bates, Anna Emerson and Catriona Knox who produce fun, fast-paced, inventive sketch comedy mixed up with some top-notch tunes.

Jigsaw: Dan Antopolski (Triple Perrier Award Nominee, BBC New Comedy Award Winner and Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe Award Winner 2009), Tom Craine (BBC National Student Award Winner 2006) and Nat Luurtsema (Chortle Best Newcomer Nominee 2008) have joined forces to create a hydra-headed sketch monster. They enjoyed a self-titled Fringe debut in 2011 featuring well honed, fast paced material.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

Humphrey Ker presents sketch groups the Noise Next Door, the Boom Jennies and Jigsaw.

Humphrey Ker is himself an established sketch performer, writer, actor and comedian who won the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh festival in 2011. For five years he was part of the much-loved sketch trio The Penny Dreadfuls, with whom he wrote and performed in a string of Edinburgh festival smashes, two series on BBC7 and two plays for Radio 4.

The sketch groups featured in episode four of Sketchorama are:

How Do I Get Up There? Scotland's fastest rising sketch group heralding a new era for Scottish comedy. In 2010, the boys made the final of the Take The Mic competition at the Edinburgh Festival, and in 2011 enjoyed their Fringe debut show. They also progressed to the finals of the prestigious New Act of The Year competition at the Barbican in London.

The Ginge, The Geordie and The Geek. Since making their debut in 2009, this group featuring Graeme Rooney, Paul Charlton and Kevin O'Loughlin have established themselves as Fringe favourites and sold 10,000 tickets for their 2011 show.

Pappy's. A multi award winning sketch team consisting of comedians Ben Clark, Matthew Crosby and Tom Parry. Established in 2004, Pappy's are firm favourites on the UK live comedy circuit with their hyper-energetic, gag filled monster of a stage presence.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

Featuring How Do I Get Up There?; The Ginge, The Geordie and The Geek; and Pappy's.

This is the second series, and in the first episode:

THE BETA MALES

Writer-performers John Henry Falle, Jon Gracey, Guy Kelly and Richard Soames have been circuit and Fringe favourites since 2010. The critically acclaimed sketch-storytellers and waistcoat enthusiasts gained a raft of 5 and 4 star reviews for their three Fringe outings, and were nominated for the Chortle Award for Best Character or Sketch Act in 2012.

SHIRLEY & SHIRLEY

A female double act, Joanna Carolan and Pascale Wilson, accompanied by co-creator and Director, Michael Pearce. They have racked up four Fringe runs and an appearance at the Latitude Festival, gaining rave reviews from the critics. Be prepared for inspired comic observation, top class character creations and wonderfully dark ideas.

JONNY & THE BAPTISTS

The world's first comedy-blues band. We think. Well, we haven't heard of any others. Featuring Jonathan Donahoe and Paddy Gervers, these circuit favourites play satirical, political, edgy, silly but often sexy sketch comedy songs.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

Thom Tuck presents the Beta Males, Shirley & Shirley, and Jonny & the Baptists.

This is the second series, and in the second episode:

SO ON AND SO FORTH

Posh sketch boys Nick Gadd, John Sherman and Martin Allanson have been performing together since 2010. In that time they have chalked up an acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe debut and picked up a Cofilmic Comedy Film Award for best sketch in 2011.

THAT PAIR

That Pair are Kathryn Bond and Lorna Shaw, who met at Bretton Hall where they discovered their mutual love of being from Essex. After graduating with one degree each in Theatre Acting, they have worked as professional actresses ever since. They came out of the comedy closet in 2010 as a female musical comedy duo. Influenced by fellow Bretton Haller's and comedy legends The League of Gentlemen and their Nans and Grandads, they perform sketches and songs with bags of silliness.

SHEEPS

Sheeps are Daran Johnson, Alastair Roberts and Liam Williams - three erudite young chaps doing sketches, and then doing themselves reflecting on their own sketches. Sheeps are graduates of that most venerable of comedy finishing schools, Cambridge Footlights. Liam Williams was runner-up in the 2010 standup contest So You Think You're Funny?, while Daran Johnson is already a prizewinning playwright.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

Thom Tuck presents So On and So Forth, That Pair and Sheeps.

In this third episode of the second series:

McNEILL & PAMPHILON

Double act Steve McNeill and Sam Pamphilon have been performing their comedy socks off since 2009 and have won rave reviews for their three Fringe runs. They have become a regular fixture on the sketch circuit, have written for several other BBC projects and now have their own BBC sitcom script in development. They both appeared on BBC 1 in Richard Hammond's Secret Service.

BARBERSHOPERA

Six years ago, Rob Castell and Tom Sadler came up with the idea to form a comedy musical quartet - and Barbershopera was born. Since then, the group has gone from strength to strength, winning a total of six Musical Theatre Matters awards over four years at the Edinburgh Festival, performing in London's West End two years running, and entertaining audiences around the UK on three successive tours.

WITTANK

Sketchateers Mark Cooper-Jones, Kieran Boyd and Naz Osmanoglu came together after achieving notable success as stand-ups on the circuit. Along with appearances on BBC3's Live at the Electric, the boys are in the middle of a sell-out tour and host a London residency at The Courtyard Theatre in Shoreditch every month.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

Thom Tuck presents sketch groups McNeill & Pamphilon, Barbershopera and Wittank.

This final episode of the second series is in Glasgow and also features a special one-off reunion performance from classic sketch group Absolutely.

The sketch groups featured in episode four of Sketchorama are:

ENDEMIC

Endemic came together in 2009 as a loose collective of performers who just wanted to make new, funny stuff. This diverse bunch of experienced comedians, musicians, writers, actors and film-makers have since produced a variety of comedic offerings - music videos, online sketches and live shows, including a run at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. Their fan-base is growing, and now includes some of their own friends and family.

Members of the cast of Channel 4's hugely popular sketch show Absolutely reunited for a special, one-off radio appearance as part of this second series of Sketchorama. Pete Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and John Sparkes recorded the show at The Oran Mor in Glasgow and performed new and classic material from some of the show's favourite characters - including Calum Gilhooley, Denzil and Gwynedd, The Little Girl and the Stoneybridge Town Council.

Thom Tuck reunites classic sketch group, Absolutely, in Glasgow.

In this programme:

Casual Violence

A comedy collective featuring Luke Booys, Greg Cranness, Dave Arrondelle, Alex Whyman, Ben Champion and writer James Hamilton. Their most recent show, House of Nostril, had sell out runs at the Soho Theatre and the Lowry in Salford Quays, following the show's success at the Edinburgh Fringe 2013. They won a ThreeWeeks Editor's Choice Award in 2011 for their show Choose Death, and their writer James Hamilton was nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality in 2011 and 2012.

Croft and Pearce

Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce met at school and, in a radical bid to break free from a quiet, cerebral existence in the Home Counties, they both went to study at Oxford University. Desperate to be chatted up by men from mainland Europe, Hannah studied French and Italian. Desperate not to be, Fiona studied English. Fiona went on to train on the three year acting course at Central School of Speech and Drama. Eager to be like Fiona, Hannah also studied acting for three years, at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since then they have enjoyed three successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Beasts

Three refined gentlemen of comedy - Owen Roberts, James McNicholas and Ciarကn Dowd. After a sell-out second Edinburgh show, these monstrously funny sketchmen are all set for greater success.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

Thom Tuck presents his pick of comedy sketch groups performing on the UK circuit.

Three refined gentlemen of comedy - Owen Roberts, James McNicholas and Ciarán Dowd. After a sell-out second Edinburgh show, these monstrously funny sketchmen are all set for greater success.

In this programme:

Mixed Doubles.

Rose Robinson, Paul Aitchison, Megan Smith and Will Close formed Mixed Doubles in 2012 after meeting at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and deciding to postpone unemployment through the means of sketch comedy. Their debut performances were at the Henley Fringe Festival in July 2012 and after a successful opening stint, London shows became an increasing regularity in the build-up to their rampant first appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013. They scooped the 'People's Choice Award' for their viral Modern Conversation at the Dave Comedy Festival in 2013 and were named Finalists in the Foster's 'So You Think That's Funny - Best New Sketch Act' of the same year.

The Real MacGuffins.

A London based sketch comedy group formed in 2008 by Dan March, Jim Millard and Matt Sheahan. They have performed their unique brand of sketch comedy across the UK as well as supporting comedians including Stewart Lee, Dave Gorman and Perrier Award Winners Tim Vine, Phil Nichol, Adam Riches and Doctor Brown. The group have proved a crowd favourite at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival throughout 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Bob and Jim.

Bob and Jim have created three Edinburgh shows - 'Modern Urges' (2011), 'GO' (2012) and 'Two Stars' (2013) and are Musical Comedy Awards Finalists (2014).

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit Production for BBC Radio 4.

Thom Tuck presents sketch groups Mixed Doubles, the Real MacGuffins, and Bob and Jim.

In this programme:

Four Screws Loose.

New Act of the Year finalists, featuring Richard Caine, Joseph Elliot, Thom Ford and Conan House.

They have performed in prestigious comedy venues from London to Edinburgh (via, naturally, Yeovil) and alongside top acts such as Ardal O'Hanlon, Patrick Kielty, Alex Zane, Frisky and Mannish and Boy With Tape on his Face.

The Jest.

Recently slimmed down from a nine-person sketch group Simply the Jest, who performed at the Fringe from 2011 to 2013. The Jest is made up of University of Exeter graduates Ella Ainsworth (School of Comedy on Channel 4 and at The Pleasance, the BBC's Hustle and Being Human), Tristan Rogers, Jack Stanley (Little Britain, 2005 film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Luke Theobald (runner-up on an episode of Pointless. Hell yeah!) and Bryony Twydle.

Birthday Girls.

Beattie Edmondson, Rose Johnson and Camille Ucan. Collectively, individually and existentially they have been seen or heard on things like Live At The Electric (BBC3), Absolutely Fabulous, Dick & Dom's Funny Business (BBC2) and the first series of Sketchorama in their former sketch collective Lady Garden.

Producer: Gus Beattie.

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

Thom Tuck presents sketch groups Four Screws Loose, The Jest and Birthday Girls.

The sketch groups featured in this episode are:

The Colour Ham

A brand new and exciting comedy project based in Edinburgh, written by and starring Colin Cloud, Kevin McMahon and Gavin Oattes. It's where comedy, magic and mindreading come together in a big ball of rock 'n' roll silliness!

Lead Pencil

Formed in 2012, Lead Pencil are a stylish comedy group that gives you observational sketches with a colourful twist, featuring Maddie Rice, Louise Beresford and Dave Biddy. Imagine the lovechild of Saved by the Bell and Art Attack. That's Lead Pencil and they've made a sketch show by literally sketching it!

Foil, Arms and Hog

Fringe favourites Foil, Arms and Hog are Sean Finegan (Foil), Conor McKenna (Arms) and Sean Flanagan (Hog). Ireland's top comedy trio have sold out the Edinburgh Fringe for five consecutive years and recently completed a world tour of festivals including Chicago, San Francisco and Adelaide, where they won a Fringe Comedy Award.

Producer: Gus Beattie.

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

Thom Tuck with up-and-coming comedy circuit sketch groups at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Award winning actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit

Every show spotlights three up and coming groups featuring character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.

There are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch groups on the British Comedy scene but with no dedicated broadcast format. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2015.

Isy Suttie presents The Twins Macabre, Massive Dad, and The Penny Dreadfuls.

Award winning actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit

Every show spotlights three up and coming groups featuring character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.

There are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch groups on the British Comedy scene but with no dedicated broadcast format. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2015.

Isy Suttie present comedy groups, Clever Peter, Hennessey and Friends, and In Cahoots.

Award winning actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit

Every show spotlights three up and coming groups featuring character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.

There are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch groups on the British Comedy scene but with no dedicated broadcast format. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2015.

Isy Suttie presents the pick of new sketch group talent from the live UK comedy circuit.

Award winning actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups from the Fringe at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival.

Every show spotlights three up and coming groups featuring character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.

There are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch groups on the British Comedy scene but with no dedicated broadcast format. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves.

Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2015.

Isy Suttie presents three sketch groups from the 2015 Edinburgh Festival.