It could just be the algorithms talking, of course, but the following stories are the ones from 2024 that attracted the most page impressions...
World Premiere of Taskmaster 19 to take place in New York
Much to the chagrin of UK fans, the first public screening of the next series will be in New York in January. Taskmaster has tried to crack America before, could this be the start of their latest US invasion? Plenty of British fans would happily fly over but tickets were gon before you could say "little Alex Horne". Full story here.
Dane Baptiste
Comedian Dane Baptiste prompted outrage following a threatening post on social media. A public apology quickly followed: "In a massive error of judgement, I posted an excessive and impulsive response, hoping to dissuade anyone monitoring my family. I made a point to say Zionist and not Jewish, but i appreciate how disturbing, threatening and incendiary that language is, I would categorically state I have no ill intention towards the Jewish community and never have. More here.
Lucy Beaumont and Jon Richardson Split
One of the big shocks of the year was Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont separating. Beaumont may have appeared to be the long-suffering wife in their hit series Meet The Richardsons but suddenly life imitated art. In fact fans were so surprised some fans even refused to believe it. Sadly, howver the split was true. As we reported here.
Michael McIntyre Review
I often wonder why comedy fans read reviews. Willa bad review of a comic you like out you off buying tickets for their tour? Will a good review of a comic you don't like change your mind about them. Michael McIntyre was a great form with his Macificent tour and readers certainly seemed keen to check out what the show was like, making it our biggest live review of the year. Read it here.
Ricky Gervais Announces World Tour
It makes more sense to me that readers want to know when a tour is announced so that they can bag decent seats. So no surprises that news of Ricky Gervais heading out on his Mortaility tour ranked so high, even though he's not to everyone's taste. Details here.
Publicist Katie Phillips Dies.
Janey Godley's death in 2024 might have been bigger national news, but in the comedy industry Katie Phillips' death was also devastating. Phillips had been the publicist for Ricky Gervais and Have I Got News For You amongst other things and was that rarity among PRs - someone both loved and respected. Details here.
Fast Show Reunites
30 years since The Fast Show first burst onto our television screens, “the defining comedy sketch show of the Nineties” (The Independent) was back, live on tour. And there are more dates in 2025. Story here.
Mr Bigstuff
Danny Dyer and Ryan Sampson had a hit on their hands with this odd couple family comedy. Read our qualified rave review here.
Jon Ronson tour dates
Comedy can be a pretty wide brief at times, but our news that Jon Ronson was touring the UK certainly touched a nerve. Although announced in late 2023, it still features in our 2024 top ten. Here's more on it here.
Henry Winkler tour dates
And talking of comedy being a wide brief, I think we can safey call Henry Winkler a comedy legend just for playing the Fonz, even though he's not a stand-up. His tour announcement also notched up the hits in 2024. Full story here.
