The Now Show

The Now Show has been a stalwart of BBC Radio 4 comedy for several years for the simple reason that it is funny. I caught a few shows over the years but was not normally at home at a consistent time so was not a regular listener. That changed in early 2006 when The Now Show became part of the BBC's experiment with podcasts which means that I can now download each episode and listen to it when commuting. The rest of the family joins in, particularly Richard who has listened to some of the episodes over 50 times!

We went to the recording of their Christmas show as a family treat, and it really was a treat! I'd been to several TV recordings over the years (Killroy, Question Time, Dimbleby, Master Mind, Two Pints ..., etc.) but this was my first radio show and I found the differences quite interesting. The Now Show is recorded almost without interruption whereas all the TV recordings have been stop/start (particularly with the giggling in Two Pints ...!). There were a few retakes to do but they were all done at the end. The show was also a lot longer than the broadcast version. They recorded almost an hour for the half hour show and then cut it down to size afterwards.

As it was the Christmas show, there was mulled wine and mince pies for the audience so we stayed there for a little while. This gave us the opportunity to speak to Mitch Benn, John Holmes and Steve Punt, and to get their autographs. All of them were very approachable and were happy to speak for quite a while. A superb night out for the family and one we'll repeat when the new series starts in March.