
Advertise on podcast: Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
Rating
4.4from
This podcast has
259 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
BBC Radio 4Explicit
No
Date created
2007/09/27
Latest episode
2026/04/24
Average duration
-
Release period
7 days
Description
Topical comedy from the sharpest satirical minds in the business. Listen first on BBC Sounds, every Friday. Is the news driving you up the wall? You’re not alone. Let the comedians take the strain and work out what’s been funny this week. Features BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz, Dead Ringers, The Naked Week and Too Long; Didn’t Read. Listen on BBC Sounds, seven days earlier than anywhere else, and subscribe to make sure that you don’t miss an episode.
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Podcast episodes
Check latest episodes from Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 podcast
The News Quiz: Ep1. Messiah or Doctor?
2026/04/24
After six weeks off air Andy Zaltzman is back. Helping him kick off the series are Andrew Maxwell, Zoe Lyons, Stephen Bush and Kiri Pritchard-McLean. They’ll be tackling the big questions - how is the country feeling ahead of the potentially seismic elections on 7th May? Why is Donald Trump feuding with the Pope and why are mini-gherkins now harder to find than ever?
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Mike Shephard, Ruth Husko, Dee Allum and Angela Channell
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
The Naked Week: Ep6. Swearing, Steeplechase, and Strikes.
2026/04/17
Following Trump's tirade, The Naked Week team bleep the hell out of the bleeping news, swear at a steeplechase, and stage a walk out.
From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes and host Andrew Hunter Murray comes The Naked Week; a fresh way of dressing the week’s news in the altogether and parading it around for everyone to laugh at.
With award-winning writers and a crack team of contemporary satirists - and recorded in front of a live audience - The Naked Week delivers a topical news-nude straight to your ears.
Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Gareth Ceredig
James Kettle
Jason Hazeley
Additional Material:
Karl Minns
Jane Fae
Molly Punshon
Darren Phillips
Kevin Smith
Investigation team:
Cat Neilan
Becky Pinnington
Guest Correspondent: Katie Norris
Production Team: Tony Churnside, Jerry Peal, David Riffkin.
Production Coordinator: Molly Punshon
Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
Produced and Directed by Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
The Naked Week: Ep5. Jesus Christ Superstarmer, and Dark Satanic Mills
2026/04/10
The team pile in on Mills and the Moon. (Mills and Moon sounds like a series of romantic novels. Just to manage your expectations, that's not where we're going with this). Also, just in time for Easter, the world premiere of Jesus Christ Superstarmer. From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes and host Andrew Hunter Murray comes The Naked Week; a fresh way of dressing the week’s news in the altogether and parading it around for everyone to laugh at. With award-winning writers and a crack team of contemporary satirists - and recorded in front of a live audience - The Naked Week delivers a topical news-nude straight to your ears. Written by: Jon Holmes Katie Sayer Gareth Ceredig James Kettle Jason Hazeley Additional Material: Karl Minns Helen Brooks Sophie Dickson Molly Punshon Cooper Mahwinny Sweryt Joe Topping Kevin Smith Investigation team: Cat Neilan Becky Pinnington Emily Channon Guests: Rosie Holt, Space Lawyer Heather Allansdottir. Production Team: Tony Churnside, Jerry Peal, David Riffkin. Production Coordinator: Molly Punshon Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer Executive Producer: Philip Abrams Produced and Directed by Jon Holmes An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
The Naked Week: Ep4. Who ya gonna call...? (Clue: It's Donald Trump)
2026/04/03
The team tackle Trump's tirades, and very much give the BBC's incoming Director General a problematic in-tray.
From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes and host Andrew Hunter Murray comes The Naked Week, a fresh way of dressing the week’s news in the altogether and parading it around for everyone to laugh at.
With award-winning writers and a crack team of contemporary satirists - and recorded in front of a live audience - The Naked Week delivers a topical news-nude straight to your ears.
Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Gareth Ceredig
James Kettle
Jason Hazeley
Additional Material:
Karl Minns
Sophie Dickson
Darren Phillips
Joe Topping
Kevin Smith
Investigation team:
Cat Neilan
Becky Pinnington
Emily Channon
Guests: Cariad Lloyd, Simon Munday.
Production Team: Tony Churnside, Jerry Peal, David Riffkin.
Production Coordinator: Molly Punshon
Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
Produced and Directed by Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
The Naked Week: Ep3. Shipping, Shopping, and Shagg...you know what, never mind.
2026/03/27
The team launch the Naked Week Investment Portfolio for Hard Done-By Young People and go shipping, shopping and shagg...you know what, never mind.
From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes and host Andrew Hunter Murray comes The Naked Week, a fresh way of dressing the week’s news in the altogether and parading it around for everyone to laugh at.
With award-winning writers and a crack team of contemporary satirists - and recorded in front of a live audience - The Naked Week delivers a topical news-nude straight to your ears.
Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Gareth Ceredig
James Kettle
Jason Hazeley
Additional Material:
Karl Minns
Viverinne Hopley Jones
Cooper Mawhinny Sweryt
Darren Phillips
Kevin Smith
Investigation team:
Cat Neilan
Katie Sayer
Becky Pinnington
Abigail Mableson
Mia Jones
Ben Stanton
Nathaniel Peutherer
Cailtin Holtzman
Paola Matha
with thanks to Richard Danbury.
Guests: Rosalie Minnitt, Jo Saunderson, and the voice of the Shipping Forecast Amanda Litherland.
Production Team: Tony Churnside, Jerry Peal, David Riffkin.
Production Coordinator: Molly Punshon
Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
Produced and Directed by Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
The Naked Week: Ep2. The Naked Week team party like it's the 2003 Iraq War.
2026/03/20
The Naked Week team party like it's the 2003 Iraq War, and then re-enact it with the help of a Viking.
From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes and host Andrew Hunter Murray comes The Naked Week, a fresh way of dressing the week’s news in the altogether and parading it around for everyone to laugh at.
With award-winning writers and a crack team of contemporary satirists - and recorded in front of a live audience - The Naked Week delivers an topical news-nude straight to your ears.
Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Gareth Ceredig
James Kettle
Jason Hazeley
Additional Material:
Karl Minns
Ali Panting
Helen Brooks
Pete Redfern
Cooper Mawhinny Sweryt
Joe Topping
Darren Phillips
Investigation:
Cat Neilan
Guests: Rosie Holt, Jimmy The 11th Century Welsh Viking.
Production Team: Tony Churnside, Jerry Peal, David Riffkin.
Production Coordinator: Molly Punshon
Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
Produced and Directed by Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
The Naked Week: Ep1. War, Law, and Operation Amol Rajan.
2026/03/13
The Naked Week team dive into war, flout the law and enjoy a real life Town Crier performing selected highlights from Amol Rajan's Instagram feed.
From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes and host Andrew Hunter Murray comes The Naked Week, a fresh way of dressing the week’s news in the altogether and parading it around for everyone to laugh at.
With award-winning writers and a crack team of contemporary satirists - and recorded in front of a live audience - The Naked Week delivers an topical news-nude straight to your ears.
Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Gareth Ceredig
James Kettle
Jason Hazeley
Additional Material:
Karl Minns
Ali Panting
Helen Brooks
Pete Redfern
Cooper Mawhinny Sweryt
Joe Topping
Investigations Team:
Cat Neilan
Emily Channon
Guests: Rachel Parris, Mark Stephens CBE, Alan Myatt.
Production Team: Tony Churnside, Jerry Peal, David Riffkin.
Production Coordinator: Molly Punshon
Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
Produced and Directed by Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
The News Quiz: Ep8. Flight risks and fly-tips
2026/03/06
Joining Andy for the final episode of this series are Simon Evans, Zoe Lyons, Cindy Yu and Ahir Shah and not one of them can be deemed a flight risk. Along with the latest on Peter Mandelson’s arrest they discuss how UK politics is no longer a two-party system with the Greens and Reform taking centre stage in Gorton and Denton, why Trump’s State of the Union address could have been mercifully shorter and why the Chagos Islands are off limits.
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Mike Shephard and Pravanya Pillay
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
The News Quiz: Ep7. The worst birthday ever
2026/02/27
Top of the agenda this week is some royal breaking news - who got a special birthday visit from the police? We’ll be analysing yet another government U-turn and see who’s emerged from the shadows for Nigel Farage’s proposed ‘shadow cabinet'. Plus a couple of stories on robots and aliens - something for everyone.
Joining Andy this week is Mark Steel, Daliso Chaponda, Coco Khan and Bella Hull.
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Jade Gebbie, Ruth Husko and Peter Tellouche.
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
The News Quiz: Ep6. Is the UK getting sunnier?
2026/02/20
This week the panel discuss PM Keir Starmer fighting off a potential coup; whether it’s a good idea to take Valentine’s day tips from a two-timing Norwegian athlete; and after 40 days of rain in some parts of the UK, is the country actually getting sunnier?
Joining Andy this week is Alasdair Beckett-King, Rachel Fairburn, Stephen Bush and Mhairi Black
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Cody Dahler, Eve Delaney, Jade Gebbie, Ruth Husko and Peter Tellouche.
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
The News Quiz: Ep5. The Prince of Darkness
2026/02/13
Is there a way out for Keir Starmer after the Peter Mandelson scandal? Who fled ‘under the cover of darkness’ from their royal lodgings? What exactly is a humble address? And why are iguanas falling out of trees? Helping Andy answer some of the big questions of the week are Desiree Burch, Pierre Novellie, Daniel Finkelstein and Catherine Bohart.
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Cody Dahler, Eve Delaney and Sarah Mills
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producers: Richard Morris and James Robinson
Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
The News Quiz: Ep4. By-elections, hello defections
2026/02/06
On the agenda this week is Starmer vs Burnham in Labour's latest civil war, Suella Braverman’s defection to Reform, and working out how to save The Great British pub. To get to the bottom of all this, Andy is joined by Daliso Chaponda, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Hugo Rifkind and Holly Walsh.
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Christina Riggs, Cameron Loxdale and Sarah Mills
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
The News Quiz: Ep3. Bored of peace
2026/01/30
This week we'll be looking at Trump's Board of Peace and asking whether Trump is bored of peace. We'll be working out how China managed to afford to get on the central London property ladder with their new mega-embassy, and hoping that a clever cow who can use a tool to scratch its back can up its game and sort out global diplomacy before it's too late. Joining Andy to help make sense of all the madness is Lucy Porter, Alasdair Beckett-King, Stephen Bush and Shappi Khorsandi.
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Christina Riggs, Cameron Loxdale, Ruth Husko and Dee Allum.
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
The News Quiz: Ep2. U-Turn, We Defect
2026/01/23
Andy’s returned from The Ashes and is back in the News Quiz chair. He’s come home to a selection of defections, some serious U-turning and 30,000 properties without water in his hometown of Tunbridge Wells. He was only away for one week! Helping Andy make sense of it all is Susie McCabe, Paul Sinha, Cindy Yu and Scott Bennett.
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Mike Shephard, Eleanor Morton and Dee Allum
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Giulia Mazzu
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
The News Quiz: Ep1. Red, White, Blue and Green-land
2026/01/16
With Andy away at The Ashes, guest host Ian Smith steps in to make sense of a dramatic news week. Topics include the US capturing Nicolás Maduro and threatening to invade Greenland, new driving rules for the over 70s and the problem with Grok AI. Helping Ian decide which way to turn are Ria Lina, Hugo Rifkind, Lucy Porter and Geoff Norcott.
Written by Ian Smith.
With additional material by: Mike Shephard, Alex Kealy and Angela Channell
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
Podcast reviews
Read Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 podcast reviews
Hammering Dancer 81 2024/02/19
Good
Funny Dispite me being thousands of miles away from this stuff
Mac an tSionnaigh 2026/02/07
Continues it’s race to the bottom.
Alan Coren was funny. Richard Ingrams was funny. Jeremy Hardy was funny. The News Quiz panels these days don’t even make me smile. A sad indictment of...
JETessendorf 2025/10/19
Have listened for years and love it.
Just wish I could still listen on BBC Sounds so that I could hear it the week it airs.
Epsilon the Plastic Bag 2025/07/12
.
It’s consistently a good podcast, and Andy Zaltsman is an amazing host.
Bahhumbug55 2025/04/20
Clever, funny, you barely notice there's serious journalism here
They do a wonderful job of explaining political corruption and important but vital aspects of UK politics without you even realising because you are s...
Adam Here Again 2025/04/13
Painfully boring
This is so dull it’s almost like a satire of a rubbish comedy show. I listened to the whole thing half because I was so astonished to hear the sound o...
Vx2401 2024/12/31
News Quiz
When is Andy and News Quiz returning? I love it!
Ian, a Boro fan 2024/11/22
No Andy- Brilliant
This used to be my favorite show until Andy’s banal comedy destroyed a show of great standing . It’s good to know the show could be salvaged by removi...
CRP1091 2024/08/31
Was good until Bohart
Bohart is just sad & irritating. Can’t wait until she’s off the show.
limp_triscuit 2024/07/07
Always a delight
If you’re into British news, or comedy, or podcasts, or comedy podcasts about British news, or quizzes, then this is the British news quiz comedy podc...
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