Avalon

Comedy masterclass with Nerys Evans

Sarah Asante and Nerys Evans (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

How her career began: "I’m from a very small town in Wales. No-one I knew ever worked in TV. I had no in. I just followed my dream and worked really hard to get my foot in the door.

"I’m not an extraordinary person. I am very lucky to work with some quite extraordinary people. It’s hard to get into telly and it’s getting harder.

"I am a massive comedy fan. I wanted to do something in comedy although I didn’t know what that would be. I read politics at Liverpool’s John Moores University where I joined the student radio station.

Russell Howard heads to Asia for Comedy Central

(Credit: Comedy Central UK)

The duo’s warm and funny relationship is once again dissected for the third season of their travelling adventures.

Following the success of the pair’s USA Road Trip, the new 6-part season will see mother and son discover a world of Samurais in Japan, advanced technology in South Korea, and an island paradise in Thailand.

Their journey continues with a visit to a 5-star acting academy in Mumbai to learn what it takes to make it in Bollywood. The pair also attempt folkoric water puppetry in Vietnam and care for rescue elephants in Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand.

Who's in Taskmaster series 7

If you’ve somehow managed to miss the show, it’s basically the strange thoughts you have in the shower, turned into a competition. ‘How do you make a snow globe?’, ‘From how far away can I blow out a candle’, ‘how high can a hose spray water?’. All the important stuff.

The sixth series has drawn to a close and Tim Vine, Russell Howard, Asim Chaudhry, Alice Levine and Lisa Tarbuck have all hung up their Taskmaster trainers and gone home for a rest. Now it’s the turn of a new bunch of comedians to face Taskmaster Greg Davies and his assistant Alex Horne!

 

Why it pays to be on Jon Thoday's side

Jon Thoday (Credit: Paul Hampartsoumian)

The lobby of Avalon’s office in west London is dominated by two monsters. One is a huge cast of Lenin in full declamation, the other is a Dalek. A visitor’s first thought is that you would not want to get on the wrong side of this entertainment giant – one-third talent agency, one-third live show promoter, one-third TV production company – or its famously effective Managing Director and co-founder, Jon Thoday. You would want Avalon and its boss fighting for you.

Sky commissions impressionist satire Re-Dub!

The impressionists will re-voice a variety of the latest clips from the realms of sport, news, politics and entertainment. The show will quite literally be putting words in the mouths of a host of famous faces.

"Re-Dub! is a gloriously silly and funny take on the world of news and celebrity from the mouth of Alistair McGowan and a host of brilliant mimics accompanying real world footage. We can promise a fun-packed half hour of pure joy,” said Phil Edgar-Jones, Sky’s Head of Entertainment.

James Nesbitt fronts new series exploring Grenfell Tower and other British disasters

Commissioned by A+E Networks UK, the series takes a unique and extraordinary look at some of the most impactful events to have affected Britain in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Set to air in early 2018 on History, the original six-part series will unravel the events that led to some of the most devastating disasters of the past 60 years.