Irish jockey

A week too late for the Grand National, here’s the wonderful Irish Jockey sketch from ITV’s The Sketch Show:

I must say that I’d forgotten all about The Sketch Show – I never really even gave it much attention when I was in the UK. But looking back now – what a line-up:

The original cast was Lee Mack, Jim Tavare, Tim Vine, Karen Taylor and Ronni Ancona.

And writers included Ricky Gervais and Aussie Matthew Hardy. It’s impressive stuff, and this skit with Lee Mack just shows why he’s still so popular on shows like Would I Lie To You.

And if you’re mood for more laughs, can I please remind you of this guy?

WILTY brilliance

SPOILER ALERT: Thankfully, given the title, this is not a medical post.

WILTY is Would I Lie To You? – the comedy panel game with Rob Brydon, Lee Mack and David Mitchell – and it’s rapidly become my favourite funny thing on the television. We’re seeing a few repeats on DSTV, but despite the fact that I’ve now seen this one four times, Kevin Bridges’ “I accidentally bought a horse” story still had me in stitches again last night:

Without over-analysising it too much, and aside from the wonderfully straightforward concept of the show (the other team must simply decide if the panelist telling the story is telling the truth or not), I think it’s the juxtaposition between the “posh” and “working class” backgrounds of Mitchell and Mack which make it work so well. Brydon’s cheesy comments merely add to the laughter.

It’s on after QI on Channel 120 on Tuesday evenings and it’s well worth a watch.