''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'' of 2010 was a British comedy benefit show organised by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. It was the inaugural Channel 4 Comedy Gala, an annual charity event held

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decemb ...

in London in aid of

Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

. Filmed live on 30 March 2010, a two and a half-hour highlights show was broadcast on Channel 4 on 5 April 2010. Billed by Channel 4 as "the biggest live stand up show in UK history" it featured seventeen comedians performing stand-up, as well as a number of others performing live and pre-recorded sketches, to an audience of 16,000. It raised nearly £1 million to open a new

anaesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...

room.

Beneficiary

All profits from ticket and DVD sales of the Comedy Gala were to go to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. All performers waived their fees for the show. The money was to be used towards the provision of two new

rooms, allowing parents to remain with their children up until the time they enter the

operating theatre An operating theater (also known as an operating room (OR), operating suite, or operation suite) is a facility within a hospital where surgical operations are carried out in an aseptic environment. Historically, the term "operating theater" refe ...

s. Katie Price made an appearance at the gala, mentioning that her disabled son Harvey is a regular visitor to the hospital. At the end of the performance, Jack Dee presented Lee Evans with a Channel 4 lifetime achievement award, which he auctioned on the spot for £5,000 for the charity, selling it to a member of the audience. Evans told the audience of his personal connection to the hospital, through the loss of his brother's eight-year-old son. Jack Dee's son was also once a patient at the hospital. The 2010 gala ultimately raised nearly £1 million, enough to open a new anaesthetic room.

History

The Comedy Gala was commissioned by Channel 4 Entertainment

commissioning editor In book publishing, a commissioning editor is essentially a buyer. It is the job of the commissioning editor to advise the publishing house on which books to publish. Usually the actual decision of whether to contract a book is taken by a senior ma ...

, Syeda Irtizaali. Promoted by

Off the Kerb Off The Kerb Productions is a British talent agency company that mainly works with comedians. The company was owned by Addison Cresswell. The company is responsible for many comedians, including Jack Dee, Lee Evans, Jeremy Hardy, Jo Brand, Ala ...

Productions, it was to be filmed by Open Mike Productions. 14,000 tickets went on sale on 12 February 2010 for the live show at the O2 Arena, scheduled for 30 March 2010. 2,000 more tickets were released on 26 February. With over 25 performers taking part, Channel 4 promoted the show as "the biggest live stand up show in United Kingdom history", and "the comedy event of the year". All tickets for the show were sold in advance according to promoters Off the Kerb. The live show was to be opened by

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeon ...

, and would feature live stand-up from several comedians, with other artists contributing additional sketches and filmed inserts, in addition to celebrity appearances from the likes of

Katie Price Katrina Amy Alexandra Alexis Price (''née'' Infield; born 22 May 1978) is an English media personality and model. She gained recognition in the late 1990s for her Glamour photography, glamour modelling work and had regular appearances on Pag ...

and Alex Reid, and

Christine Bleakley Christine Louise Lampard (''née'' Bleakley, born 2 February 1979) is a Northern Irish broadcaster. She has presented various television programmes with Adrian Chiles, such as ''The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–11), while w ...

, as well as musicals performances by

Stomp Stomp may refer to: *Stomp (strike), a downwards kick using the heel Music and dance * ''Stomp'' (album), by Big D and the Kids Table, 2013 *Stomp (jazz), a type of rhythmic jazz tune popular in the 1920s *Stomp (theatrical show), a percussive ph ...

and

Bill Bailey Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...

. Channel 4 was to screen 2 hours of highlights from the show at 9pm on

bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...

, 5 April 2010. It was announced on 1 April that the Channel 4 broadcast would also feature a special advert break, with Jimmy Carr mocking a selection of willing advertisers. The live-show went ahead, finishing at 11pm. The Channel 4 programme aired on 5 April, running for an extra 30 minutes over the advertised length. There was a hint at the second gala to come, when Jack Dee closed the first show stating "we'll see you next year, thank you and goodnight". A second gala was duly announced on 10 March 2011.

Cast

Stand up performers

The following people appeared, performing live stand-up: *

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Saturd ...

John Bishop John Marcus Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former footballer. Bishop formerly played football as a midfielder for Winsford United F.C., Crewe Alexandra F.C., Runcorn F.C., Rhyl F.C., Witton Albion ...

Kevin Bridges Kevin Andrew Bridges (born 13 November 1986) is a Scottish stand-up comedian. His 2012 television series '' Kevin Bridges: What's the Story?'' was based on his stand-up routines. He has appeared on many television panel shows including '' Would ...

Jack Dee James Andrew Innes Dee (born 24 September 1961), known professionally as Jack Dee, is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter and writer known for his sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom ''Lead Balloon'' ...

* Lee Evans *

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...

Rich Hall Richard Travis Hall (born June 10, 1954) is an American comedian, writer, documentary maker and musician, first coming to prominence as a sketch comedian in the 1980s. He wrote and performed for a range of American networks, in series such as ...

Shappi Khorsandi Shaparak Khorsandi ( fa, شاپرک خرسندی, born 8 June 1973), formerly known as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family le ...

Patrick Kielty Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) is a Northern Irish comedian and television personality. Background Kielty was born in County Down, Northern Ireland, and grew up in the village of Dundrum. He is one of three sons born to the businessm ...

Sean Lock Sean Lock (22 April 1963 – 16 August 2021) was an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian and in 2000 he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Perri ...

Jason Manford Jason John Manford (born 26 May 1981) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer. Manford was a team captain on the Channel 4 panel show ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' from 2007 until 2010 and has presented numerous television shows for the BBC an ...

Michael McIntyre Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is an English comedian, writer and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He currently presents his own Saturday night series, ''Michael Mc ...

Andy Parsons Andrew John Parsons (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian and writer. He regularly appeared on ''Mock the Week'' from Series 3 to Series 14. With comedy partner Henry Naylor, he has written and presented nine series of ''Parsons and Na ...

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, wh ...

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series ''Fresh Meat (TV series), Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series ''Bad Educat ...

Other in person appearances

The following people also appeared live, either as hosts, special guests, or in sketches or musical performances: *

Rob Brydon Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series ''Supernova'', Bryn West in the BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' a ...

Fonejacker ''Fonejacker'' is a British comedy programme broadcast on E4 featuring a series of prank calls involving a number of different characters performed by British Iranian television actor Kayvan Novak. It first appeared in May 2006 and became a fu ...

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey''. In the Un ...

* Peter Dickson (voice) *

Kevin Eldon Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...

Ruth Jones Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the award-winning BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' (2007–2010, 2019). Jones has also appeared in various ...

* David Mitchell *

* Alex Reid *

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...

Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), ...

Gok Wan Kowkhyn Wan (; born 9 September 1974), known as Gok Wan, is a British Wardrobe stylist, fashion consultant, author, television presenter, actor, DJ, chef and event manager. Initially training in the performing arts at the Central School of Sp ...

Pre-recorded appearances

The following people appeared during the live show in pre-recorded parts, either in special messages or sketches: *

Kevin Bishop Kevin Brian Bishop (born 18 June 1980) is a British actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Jim Hawkins in ''Muppet Treasure Island'', Stupid Brian in ''My Family'', and Nigel Norman Fletcher in the 2016 revival of ''Porr ...

Derren Brown Derren Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English mentalist, illusionist, painter, and author. He began performing in 1992, making his television debut with ''Derren Brown: Mind Control'' in 2000, and has since produced several more shows fo ...

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

(voice) *

Kyle MacLachlan Kyle Merritt MacLachlan (; ' McLachlan, February 22, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dale Cooper in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), as well as roles ...

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

(voice) * David Mitchell *

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, later Arden; born 9 October 1952) is a British-American television personality, music manager and author. She is married to heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing ...

Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English presenter, comedian, actor, voice-artist, producer and author. After working with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as producer on their XFM radio show, Pilkington became a co-host of '' ...

(voice) *

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is one half of the double act Mitchell and Webb, alongside David Mitchell. Webb and Mitchell both starred in the Channel 4 sitco ...

Notes

Jo Brand performed despite suffering from

norovirus Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually deve ...

Omid Djalili Omid Djalili ( fa, امید جلیلی; born 30 September 1965) is a British actor, comedian and writer. Early life and education Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in Chelsea, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents. He attended Holland Park ...

was due to appear according to some Channel 4 publicity before the show, although he did not ultimately feature.

, having appeared in her regular role as presenter of ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'' broadcast live from 7pm, ultimately took part in the show accompanying

as a host, although she did not ultimately perform any stand-up.

Show elements

The majority of the show was live stand-up, although it also included some musical performances and in-character performances.

Running order

Stand-up acts, sketches and other pre-recorded parts were broadcast in the Channel 4 show in the following order (minus hosts): *

*Apology sketches ad-break *

*Short film about Great Ormond Street *Special message from

special ad break featuring

*Special message from ''

The Ricky Gervais Show ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' is a comedy radio show in the UK starring Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington, later adapted into a podcast and a television series. Despite being named after the more famous Gervais, it mostly revol ...

'' *First ''

The Kevin Bishop Show ''The Kevin Bishop Show'' is a sketch comedy written by and starring English comedian Kevin Bishop, part of the ''Star Stories'' team. The show was commissioned by Channel 4 for a six-part series starting on 25 July 2008 at 10 p.m. A pilot was b ...

'' television sketch ad-break *

ad-break *

* ''Peep Show'' television sketch ad-break *

*''

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers st ...

'' live sketch *

ad-break *Second ''

'' television sketch * Lee Evans as 'The Lee Evans Trio' ad-break *Lee Evans's main act

Hosts and special guests

All the stand-up acts were given 4–5 minutes to perform, with longer performances from Michael McIntyre and Lee Evans. To gel the stand-up acts and sketches together, the show used several hosts presenting in turn, which split the show into different notional sections; as well as using special guests and in-character acts for other one-off introductions for other acts. Alan Carr and Jack Dee acted as both hosts and stand-up performers, while some other hosts had short 1 minute acts too. Alan Carr was the first host, introducing Jason Manford, Jo Brand, the apology sketches and Sean Lock, before appearing in the short film about the hospital.

then took over as host, introducing the message from Johnny Depp, then the acts by Kevin Bridges, the special ad-break, Patrick Kielty, and the special sketch by ''The Ricky Gervais Show''.

and

then introduced the first ''Kevin Bishop Show'' sketch and Andy Parsons, while Brydon then went on to do a short Tom Jones impression before then introducing Mark Watson. Michael McIntyre was introduced by the celebrity couple

and Alex Reid, while

, appearing in character as 'Terry Tibbs' and accompanied by celebrity guest and BBC presenter

, then introduced Jack Dee's act. Following his own act, Dee went on to introduce Shappi Khorsandi and the ''Peep Show'' sketch.

then appeared in character as

Joanie Taylor Joan Taylor known as Joanie (née O’Neill) is a fictional character in ''The Catherine Tate Show,'' referred to mainly as "Nan". She is one of the main characters of the show and is portrayed by Catherine Tate. She has since gone on to be the m ...

("Nan") from ''

The Catherine Tate Show ''The Catherine Tate Show'' is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Derren Litten. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. ''The Catherine Tate Show'' airs on B ...

'', to introduce Noel Fielding. The '' Gavin & Stacy'' sketch was not announced, while its characters Corden and Jones then introduced John Bishop. David Mitchell then took over as host, introducing Jack Whitehall, Rich Hall and the second ''Kevin Bishop Show'' sketch. The hosts themselves were introduced by the voice of Peter Dickson, with the exception of David Mitchell who was introduced by the previous act, John Bishop. Dickson also introduced Bill Bailey and Lee Evans as the only other acts not introduced in person by somebody. For comedic effect, the start of the ''Gavin & Stacey'' sketch was not announced at all.

Other live acts

The show opened with a performance by the musical troupe

who make music using plastic and metal bins and barrels, and oil drums. Alan Carr was then revealed to have been in one of their

wheelie bin A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...

s for the entire performance. Tipped out of the bin, he begins the stand-up show with his own act, before acting as host for the first segment. Bill Bailey performed a short stand-up before going on to perform various musical comedy shorts on the keyboard, with additional vocals by

and

appeared in character as Smithy and Nessa from their television sit-com ''

'', carrying forward the plot from the final episode by pretending to be visiting London on a day trip from

Barry Island Barry Island ( cy, Ynys y Barri) is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc. Barry's stretch of coast, on the Bristol Chann ...

. Lost and late, they appear on stage looking for their seats, before realising they're on stage and carrying on in character. In 'The Lee Evans Trio', Lee Evans appears on his own, spotlighted in turn, miming playing three different instruments, drums, double bass and piano.

Pre-recorded sketches

Various performers provided special shorts of their television shows for the Gala. A special message from the animated show ''

'' featured the voices of

in a sketch about giving to charity and

swimming with dolphins The popularity of swimming with dolphins increased in the 1980s and 1990s, occurring in over 65 countries, both as a form of therapy as well as a tourist activity. Proponents of dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) say that interacting with dolphins can ...

. In the first ''

'' sketch, Bishop appears as 'Rok Wan' alongside Gok Wan as Gok's younger brother, for a make-over. In his second sketch, in a notional

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

programme 'Celebrity Siblings Reunited', Bishop appears as 'Darren Brown', meeting his twin brother

on their birthday. In the ''

Peep Show A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...

'' sketch, David Mitchell and

perform a sketch in a restaurant about donating to charity. Actors Sir

and

, singer

, actor

, celebrity

, all appeared during the show to give notional pre-recorded messages of apology for not being able to attend. However, these were all in fact comedy spoofs. Johnny Depp and Rihanna joked that Jonathan Ross was the reason they weren't appearing, Osbourne play-acted that she had been snubbed by Channel 4, while Stewart and MacLachlan sent-up the general idea of celebrities being less than committed to making appearances at charity galas. Pitched by Carr as the 'serious bit' in the mould of

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

type information films inserted between the comedy acts, the short film broadcast early in the show about the Great Ormond Street Hospital featured instead, Alan Carr touring the hospital meeting staff and patients, making various comic gaffes. During the special ad-break featuring

, Carr appeared either in specially filmed inserts, or in walkover shots, mocking adverts for

Gocompare.com Go.Compare (formerly GoCompare.com) is a British financial services comparison company based in Newport, Wales. Its website provides comparison details for financial products including car insurance, home and pet insurance and breakdown cover. ...

, Churchill car insurance,

Specsavers Specsavers Optical Group Ltd is a British multinational optical retail chain, which operates mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australasia and the Nordic countries. The chain offers optometry and optician services for eyesight testing and sells glasse ...

PokerStars PokerStars is an online poker cardroom that was a part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment on May 5, 2020. It can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It is the large ...

.com,

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

Low Low cheese and

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

Reception

The live show was greeted with average to good reviews, with ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' and the London ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' giving it 4 out of 5 stars, while ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' gave it 3 stars. The length of the show and size of the arena were pointed out as detracting points. Michael McIntyre and Lee Evans were universally recognised as being the best acts of the show. Other noted acts were Jack Dee, John Bishop, Rich Hall, Noel Fielding, and a musical routine by Bill Bailey and Kevin Eldon. With McIntyre being closer of the first half, and Evans closing the show, they had both been given longer than the 5 minutes given to most acts, leading to observations that this meant the intervening acts had neither the time to die a death, or heat up the performance beyond being just enjoyable. The inclusion of Katie Price and Alex Reid was questioned; they were roundly booed by the audience. Media outlets picked up on Patrick Kielty and Sean Lock's inclusion of gags about

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, who had been planning to stage his farewell concerts at the arena before his shock death nine months previously. The Channel 4 broadcast on 5 April was to be the highlight of the Channel 4 Easter programming, going up against the Guardian's other Easter Monday TV highlight selections of the final ever episode of ''A Touch of Frost'' on ITV, and the UK premiere of the long-awaited series ''The Pacific'', on

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

. The broadcast ultimately came third in the terrestrial viewer ratings in its time slot. It registered 2.172 million viewers, a 9.9% audience share, between 9 pm and 11.05 pm, with a further 254,000 viewers watching on the timeshift service, Channel 4 +1. This was behind the 8.338 million viewers (34%) registered by ''A Touch of Frost'', and the 4.321 million (16.1%) who watched ''

MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

. ''The Pacific'' registered 631,000 viewers on the digital-only channel Sky Movies.

DVD release

An uncut version of the full 3-hour show was released on DVD by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

on Monday 26 April 2010.

References

External links

Channel 4's Comedy Gala microsite

Channel 4's Comedy Gala programme guide

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Off the Kerb Productions
* {{British Comedy Guide, tv, channel4_comedy_gala 2010 television specials Channel 4 comedy Health-related fundraisers Great Ormond Street Hospital Stand-up comedy concert films Stand-up comedy on DVD 2010 in London