The financial world has the FTSE Index. The Comedy world now has the Tee Hee Index. Welcome to the first ever chart that keeps track of who is up and who is down in the world of comedy, put together by Beyond The Joke. Who is rising? who is falling? This is not a chart based on ticket sales, viewing figures or the number of Instagram likes. Those might be taken into account. But it is more a chart based on profile and vibe. Who are the comedians making the widest impact. The ones people are talking about.
So without further ado, here is the first chart. As his picture is at the top of the page you can see immediately who is number one. What's interesting is that at any point over the last year the comedian at number two would have been the chart topper. Can he reclaim his number one spot or will Strictly be the making of Josh...
1. Josh Widdicombe - who would have thought that observational comedian Widdicombe would be one of the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing? Probably not even Josh Widdicombe who apparently suggested himself for the job with a jokey text that he never thought would be taken seriously. But here we are. Josh on primetime BBC One on Saturday nights in a suit with his hair brushed neatly.
2. Romesh Ranganathan - so much of a BBC figurehead he was invited to front their latest publicity campaign. What has the BBC ever done for Romesh? Put him in enough shows to get him into second place in our inaugural chart. Oh, and he's done the odd thing on ITV as well, such as quiz show Parents' Evening. And he's somehow found time to fit in a massive ongoing arena tour.
3. Diane Morgan - the Mancunian comic has been a cult star for over a decade but with the heartwarming AI sitcom Ann Droid she has hit the mainstream motherlode. A second series has been commissioned but before then fans can see her on BBC Two collaborating with Charlie Brooker and reviving her dimwitted interviewer Philomena Cunk for Cunk on Cinema.
4. John Bishop – Josh Widdicombe isn't the only stand-up turning into Mr Saturday Night. On the same night that Josh made his debut, John Bishop presented a brand new quiz entitled Wisdom of the Crowd. While the format is very different it feels as if the BBC is hoping Bishop wlll have the same success as Lee Mack on ITV's 1% Club, where the questions sometimes take second place to the banter and viewers watch as much for the crowdwork as the cash prizes.
5. Lee Mack - and talking of Lee Mack, the quickfire comic is back this week with a new series of Not Going Out, which has broken so many sitcom records I've started to lose count. It's now in its, checks notes, twentieth year so as well as new episodes there's also a documentary coming up about the history of the show.
6. David Mitchell – the irascible regular on Would I Lie To You? has picked up a whole new fanbase with the craftily constructed crime drama Ludwig, which ends this week but will surely be back for a third series. Mitchell has lightened up a lot in recent years, even appearing on Last One Laughing UK. But will we ever see him on Taskmaster?
7. Ben Miller – and talking of comedians who are half of a sketch double act and now appear in gentle mystery dramas set in Cambridge, Miller's Professor T also comes to the end of its run this week. The word on the street is that there's an Armstrong and Miller reunion in the pipeline to mark 30 years together, so we shall be seeing Ben again soon I suspect.
8. Iain Stirling - the Scottish stand up might have made his name with his sideswiping commentary on Love Island, but he's now become a TV regular fronting shows from Roast The Internet to upmarket sandcastle competition Race Against The Tide. And breaking news, he's just revealed that he's a contestant on Celebrity Traitors USA.
9. Lara Ricote - it's looking like a good year for comedian Ricote. She picked up an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for Best Show in August and is about to star in a brand new comedy on Channel 4, entitled Break Clause.
10. Emma Sidi – and finally, we couldn't have a comedy top ten without somebody from SNL UK. The new series is two episodes old and if George Fouracres was the breakout star of series one Emma Sidi looks set to catch a wave in series two. In this week's episode she dominated, appearing in three great sketches back to back, as a hot ghost, a mum trying to return a computer game and as a Davina-type TV host tracking down former boyfriends. Comedy buffs will already known Sidi from Rose Matafeo's Starstruck and Taskmaster, after SNL she's going to be busier than ever.
So there is the top ten. But who did we miss out? Who are your hits and misses? We know you'll disagree so why not let us know?
Josh Widdicombe picture: BBC/Ray Burmiston
