The line-up of new shows on BBC Entertainment this month and news on the upcoming Comedy Festival:
PREMIERE SHOWS
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?Premiered: Sunday, 4 April 2010 at 19h30
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? That's the question for Graham Norton as he searches for a new Maria Von Trapp for the West End production of The Sound of Music.
For more about the show, see: the
TVSA How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? Mini Site.
Doctor Who 4Premiered: Sunday 11 April 2010 at 18h25
Doctor Who retruns for a new season, with a new companion: Catherin Tate. In the premiere episode: Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) is determined to find the Doctor again, even if it means braving the villainous Miss Foster and her hordes of sinister Adipose.
For more about the season, see:
TVSA's Doctor Who 4 Show Page.
My Family 9Premiered: Thursday, 15 April 2010 at 19h55
New twists and turns arise this season when Ben decides that it's time to stand up to a bully, and becomes envious of an old student friend who has found fame and fortune.
Meanwhile, Susan has a brief romantic interlude at an Albanian airport and then sets Ben up with one of her old girlfriends.
Michael appears to be undergoing therapy, and Janey has an affair with Susan?s biggest client.
This series sees a dog join the family and at work Ben's dental approach ends up with him being retrained.
Benidorm 2Premiered: Thursday 15 April 2010 at 20h25
Benidorm returns for a new season of antics. Whatever their backgrounds, all the guests checking into Solana Apartments have one thing in common: a quest to get value for their hard-earned Euros.
The British spirit of Solana is summed up by veteran pensioners, Jacqueline and Donald, who have been coming to Benidorm for over twenty years – even though they're yet to venture out of the resort itself.
COMEDY FESTIVAL
Premiere date: Monday 19 April 2010 at 21h30
Runs Mondays to Thursdays at the same time - for a month.
A festival featuring some of the best stand-up British comedians. Each episode features a different stand-up act. Performers include: deadpan observer, Jack Dee, the hilarious Alan Carr, and the livewire of British comedy, Lee Evans.
Also on the bill are Irish funnyman Dara O'Briain and British Comedy Award winner Sean Lock.
On Monday night (19 Aril) the festival premieres with Michael Michael McIntyre in his show titled Live & Laughing.
More about him:
The son of comedy scriptwriter Ray Cameron, Michael McIntyre's first stand-up success came at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival, where he was nominated for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. He returned to the festival in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
In 2006, he made his debut at the Kilkenny comedy festival, returning the following year when he also added Montreal's Just For Laughs festival to his CV. In 2007 he was nominated for the Chortle.co.uk Award for best headliner – a title he won in 2008.
He now hosts BBC One’s primetime Saturday night award winning Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, which will return to the UK in 2010 for a second series.
He has performed twice at the Royal Variety Performance and appeared three times on BBC’s stand-up showcase Live at the Apollo. His debut DVD Live and Laughing was the fastest and biggest selling of all time in the UK and his follow up DVD Hello Wembley sold over 250,000 copies in its first week, entering the charts at number 2 behind Star Trek.
In 2009, Michael played live to half a million people in 54 arenas, including a record breaking six nights at Wembley and four at London’s O2. He lives in London with his wife Kitty and two sons Lucas and Oscar and is currently writing a book about it all, which will be out towards the end of 2010.
BBC Entertainment is on DStv Channel 120