Mock the Week Christmas special

On Tuesday 23 December, hit satirical panel show Mock The Week returns to BBC Two for a one-off Christmas special.

Regular comedy supremos Frankie Boyle, Hugh Dennis, Russell Howard and Andy Parsons join host Dara O'Briain for a sparkling half hour show featuring their unique thoughts on the festive season as well as some favourite moments from the last series.

The Mock The Week regulars are joined for this special by a host of top comedy talent including Michael McIntyre, Ed Byrne, David Mitchell, Gina Yashere, Lauren Laverne, Stephen K Amos, Greg Davies and Lucy Porter.

Only on Mock The Week this Christmas will you find talk of Russell Howard being sucked into a black hole, Hugh Dennis yearning for a game of Battling Tops and Frankie Boyle being crowned King of the Daleks.

Look out for bemused Aussie comedian Adam Hills who valiantly tries to bring some Christmas joy to a programme devoid of Christmas decorations, apart, that is, from a miserable Scot with a blower from a cracker.

After six hugely successful series, it's the perfect time for a Mock The Week Christmas special.

Mock The Week was created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, the creative force behind iconic improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? which ran for ten years on British TV before successfully transferring to the United States.

Mock The Week is produced for BBC Two by independent production company Angst Productions.

BBC Press Release

Journalists welcomed into family courts

Press Gazette have reported that Justice Secretary Jack Straw has announced that family courts will be opened up to journalists from next April in an attempt to make them more transparent.

This change will mean that journalists will be able to sit in on all divorce, custody and care proceedings unless stated otherwise but, will obviously be subjected to certain reporting restrictions.

Press Gazette writes: '"He told the Commons: "Many argue that the current provisions to safeguard privacy and confidentiality go too far - leaving family courts unfairly open to accusations of bias or even injustice."

"The overall effect of these changes will be fundamentally to increase the openness of family courts while protecting the privacy of children and vulnerable adults."'

This is a huge change for the journalism industry and for the family court environment, I'm sure a lot of people won't be happy about the proposal but, it does seem a good move towards letting the general public know more about what goes on in court.