Live at the Apollo (TV series)
| Live at the Apollo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Presented by | Jack Dee (2004–2007) Guest hosts (2007–present) |
| Narrated by | Patrick Allen Peter Dickson |
| Opening theme | BBC: Jet – "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" Dave/Comedy Central: Unknown instrumental |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 44 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Alex Hardcastle |
| Running time | 45 minutes / 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One (2004-Present) BBC HD (2006-2010) BBC One HD (2010-Present) |
| Release | 6 September 2004 – present |
| Related | |
| Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow | |
Live at the Apollo (formerly titled Jack Dee Live at the Apollo) is a British stand-up comedy programme performed from the Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in west London.
Jack Dee hosted the first two series and the opening show of the third series, performing a short segment before introducing a guest comedian. To date there have been seven series of the show, all broadcast on BBC One. The programme was renamed for its third series which was filmed over three evenings in October 2007. The format was changed to suit with one of the night's performers assuming hosting duties.[1]
A fourth series began transmission on 28 November 2008. It showcased a variety of the newer stand-up comedians. The 4th series was rescheduled from Monday nights to Friday nights to replace Friday Night with Jonathan Ross after the host's suspension in the wake of the Sachsgate row.[2] After hosting the first episode, Michael McIntyre got his own show of a similar format; Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow was broadcast for a series of six episodes in 2009.[3]
A recurring aspect of the show is the host's mobile phone. Introduced during Dee's tenure, the number was given to the audience at the beginning of the show. A selection of the comments and jokes sent as text messages to the mobile are read out by the host at the end of the show. A recurring text message would read along the lines of: "Where's Jack Dee? He's much better.", often from a Mr J Dee of London. This section has however been dropped from Series 4 onwards.
A fifth series aired in late 2009 and early 2010,[4] the recordings of which took place in October 2009. This series was initially broadcast as edited 30 minute episodes, but the full length (45 minute) versions were then shown in May, June and July 2010.
A sixth series of Live at the Apollo began airing in late November 2010, with new episodes being recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo during September and October 2010. The episodes are 30 minutes in length but may be extended once they reach the rerun channels such as Dave and Comedy Central.
The first four series were often repeated on digital channel Dave, they are now shown on Comedy Central. The theme tune used on the BBC broadcasts (Jet – "Are You Gonna Be My Girl") has been replaced with another instrumental piece for the digital repeats.
Episode list
Series 1
| # | Comedian | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 1x01 | Joan Rivers | 6 September 2004 |
| 1x02 | Ardal O'Hanlon | 13 September 2004 |
| 1x03 | Jo Brand | 20 September 2004 |
| 1x04 | Ross Noble | 27 September 2004 |
| 1x05 | Omid Djalili | 4 October 2004 |
| 1x06 | No guest | 11 October 2004 |
Series 2
| # | Comedian(s) | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| 2x01 | Lee Mack | 12 September 2005 |
| 2x02 | Dara Ó Briain | 19 September 2005 |
| 2x03 | No guest | 26 September 2005 |
| 2x04 | Rob Brydon (in character as Keith Barret) | 3 October 2005 |
| 2x05 | Marcus Brigstocke and Rich Hall | 10 October 2005 |
| 2x06 | Julian Clary | 17 October 2005 |
Series 3
| # | Host | Comedian(s) | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3x01 | Jack Dee | Jason Manford and Russell Howard | 12 November 2007 |
| 3x02 | Jimmy Carr | Alan Carr | 19 November 2007 |
| 3x03 | Jo Brand | Michael McIntyre | 26 November 2007 |
| 3x04 | Lee Mack | Sean Lock | 3 December 2007 |
| 3x05 | Joan Rivers | Patrick Kielty | 10 December 2007 |
| 3x06 | Dara Ó Briain | Stephen K. Amos and Frankie Boyle | 17 December 2007 |
Series 4
| # | Host | Comedian(s) | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x01 | Michael McIntyre | Rich Hall and Rhod Gilbert | 28 November 2008 |
| 4x02 | Al Murray (in character as The Pub Landlord) | Shappi Khorsandi and Russell Kane | 5 December 2008 |
| 4x03 | Sean Lock | Jason Manford | 12 December 2008 |
| 4x04 | Dara Ó Briain | Frankie Boyle | 19 December 2008 |
| 4x05 | Lenny Henry | Andy Parsons and Ed Byrne | 9 January 2009 |
| 4x06 | Russell Howard | Jo Brand | 16 January 2009 |
Series 5
| # | Host | Comedian(s) | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5x01 | Jason Manford | Michael McIntyre | 4 December 2009 |
| 5x02 | Rob Brydon | Sarah Millican and Jason Byrne | 11 December 2009 |
| 5x03 | Al Murray (in character as The Pub Landlord) | Chris Addison and Tim Vine | 18 December 2009 |
| 5x04 | Rhod Gilbert | John Bishop | 19 December 2009 |
| 5x05 | Ed Byrne | Adam Hills and Gina Yashere | 24 December 2009 |
| 5x06 | Alistair McGowan | Kevin Bridges and Reginald D. Hunter | 1 January 2010 |
Series 6
| # | Host | Comedian(s) | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6x01 | Sean Lock | John Bishop | 25 November 2010 |
| 6x02 | Lee Mack | Rich Hall and Danny Bhoy | 2 December 2010 |
| 6x03 | Dara Ó Briain | Stewart Francis and Greg Davies | 9 December 2010 |
| 6x04 | Kevin Bridges | Shappi Khorsandi and Jack Whitehall | 17 December 2010 |
| 6x05 | Stephen K. Amos | Jon Richardson and Micky Flanagan | 28 December 2010 |
| 6x06 | Lenny Henry | Mike Wilmot and Tommy Tiernan | 1 January 2011 |
Series 7
| # | Host | Comedian(s) | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7x01 | Micky Flanagan | Seann Walsh and Jason Byrne | 4 November 2011 |
| 7x02 | Sean Lock | Ed Byrne and Lee Nelson | 11 November 2011 |
| 7x03 | Alan Carr | Andi Osho and Patrick Kielty | 25 November 2011 |
| 7x04 | Andy Parsons | Andrew Lawrence and Milton Jones | 2 December 2011 |
| 7x05 | Rich Hall | Mark Watson and Andrew Maxwell | 9 December 2011 |
| 7x06 | Sarah Millican | Steve Hughes and Russell Kane | 16 December 2011 |
| 7x07 | Jason Manford | Jimeoin and Tom Stade | 14 January 2012 |
| 7x08 | Jack Whitehall | Josh Widdicombe and Shappi Khorsandi | 21 January 2012 |
Series 8
| # | Host | Comedian(s) | First broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8x01 | Dara Ó Briain | Nina Conti and Danny Bhoy | 17 November 2012 |
| 8x02 | Rhod Gilbert | Kerry Godliman and Jon Richardson | 24 November 2012 |
| 8x?? | Kevin Bridges | Phill Jupitus and Sara Pascoe | |
| 8x?? | Lee Nelson | Stewart Francis and Paul Chowdhry | |
| 8x?? | Omid Djalili | Julian Clary and Reginald D. Hunter | |
| 8x?? | Greg Davies | Hal Cruttenden and Simon Evans |
Guest appearances
The following have appeared as a guest on the show multiple times up to and including the filmed episodes of series 8:
Most appearances in total5 appearances 4 appearances 3 appearances 2 appearances
|
Guest hosts4 appearances as host 3 appearances as host 2 appearances as host |
References
- ^ "Another Apollo mission". Chortle.co.uk. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
- ^ Colin Paterson (11 November 2008). "Apollo comic show to replace Ross". BBC. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
- ^ "New comedy tops bill on BBC One this summer with Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow". BBC. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
- ^ BBC – Press Office – BBC One Autumn 2009
External links
- Live at the Apollo at BBC Online
- Live at the Apollo at IMDb
- Live at the Apollo at British Comedy Guide
