Pappy's Fun Club, Radio 4, 11pm

The latest in the Happy Mondays series of new comedy try-outs is something of a grower. At first the combination of sketches, one-liners, song and showbiz guests seems hopelessly old-fashioned, and then you discover it's supposed to be. Indeed, it was as a form of updated Gang Show that Pappy's Fun Club (Ben Clarke, Matthew Crosby, Brendan Dodds and Tom Parry) was a considerable hit on the Edinburgh Fringe last year. The action takes place at a charity fundraiser where everything goes wrong - with hilarious results, naturally. Bernie Taurus and his Breakdancing Walrus, for example, is deemed to be too expensive for a charity gig, and so the organisers have to downgrade, possibly to Bernie Chog and his Frog. Only the frog has died and so it's just Bernie Chog and his Anecdote about his frog. And Barry Cryer comes along to tell stories about the famous people he's met, thus saving on the cost of the real ones. And the Lily Allen/ Kate Nash-alike, Lila Foy, sings a song. You get the drift - silly, but sweet.

Original link: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/...