Radio 4 Presenters do Comedy Stand-up for Comic Relief

A few weeks ago the diabolic minds of Comic Relief  decided to get four Radio 4 presenters, team each with a mentor from the stand-up world, record potentially embarrassing tutorials and force us to do a “set” at a comedy club. Thus, Evan Davis, economics expert and Serious Person, was captured, after a considerable struggle, to be trained by Paul Merton. Professor Laurie Taylor  studied under the Iranian comedian Shappi Khorsandi. Peter White, the disability correspondent, got Josie Long, and I have been advised by Milton Jones. As a sadistic twist they titled the project “Stand up with the Stars”.

We cringed. Tuesday night was the climax; this Sunday the first of the two programmes following our “journey” goes out, on March 8 the story is completed and listeners vote. The winner gets a spot on The Now Show . The worst scorer goes on Clive Anderson 's Loose Ends. So most of us are jockeying desperately for second or third place.....

Click here  to read the full Times story..... Stand Up with the Stars  is on Radio 4 on March 1 and March 8 at 1.30pm