Jo Brand

Alan Yentob looks into the life of comedian Jo Brand, marking a diverse career which began in 1980s stand-up comedy and has moved through writing, performing and presenting.

Based on Jo Brand's critically acclaimed novel of the same name, The More You Ignore Me is a warm, comedy drama focusing on the life of an unconventional family in 1980s rural England. The film focuses on Gina, a young mother, whose efforts to be a loving mother and wife are undermined by her declining mental health. Things deteriorate when she develops an obsession with the local weatherman, which leads to an admission to the nearby psychiatric hospital. Over the years, as she grows up, her daughter Alice struggles to relate to her heavily medicated mum, and causes chaos when she comes up with a plan to reconnect with her, which divides the family forever and leads to a moving climax. Set to the songs of The Smiths, The More You Ignore Me provides a sometimes stark, yet comical insight into life within this quirky household, whilst addressing mental health issues and their impact on the family.

The show that gives fans another bite of Bake Off when one helping just isn't enough. Jo Brand chats to a panel of celebrities about all the action, and meets the latest baker to leave the tent.

Join Peppa in this exciting new preschool cinema experience, with plenty of snorts, giggles and jumping up and down in muddy puddles! Leading with ‘Peppa Visits London’, the first of the never-before-seen episodes, Peppa and her friends hop on board a double-decker red bus as the Queen takes them on an unforgettable tour of iconic London landmarks including Big Ben, Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square. The other new ‘oink-tastic’ episodes include ‘The Police, ‘Canal Boat’, ‘The Zoo’, ‘Move to the Music’ and a four-part story in which viewers will join Peppa on an Australian holiday to visit her old friend, Kylie Kangaroo.

This British documentary series focuses on comedian Jo Brand and the RSPCA as they help different cats and kittens in need.

Three-part dark comedy series about three days in the life of a sandwich generation couple - a care worker and a limo driver - who have put their lives on hold for the sake of others.

Comedy set in the social services department of a local authority. Social workers Rose and Al swim against the tide of bureaucracy, deal with the absurdities of life and try to navigate their equally trying professional and personal lives.

Greg Davies is the Taskmaster, and with the help of his ever-loyal assistant Alex Horne, they will set out to test the wiles, wit, wisdom and skills of five hyper-competitive comedians. Who will be crowned the Taskmaster champion in this brand new game show?

Choirmaster Gareth Malone brings together an array of untrained voices from the world of television, sport and theatre to release the official 2014 BBC Children in Need single.

This documentary explores Kate Bush's career and music, from January 1978's Wuthering Heights to her 2011 album 50 Words for Snow, through the testimony of some of her key collaborators and those she has inspired.

The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, sometimes shortened to An Extra Slice is a British television show made by the BBC and filmed at The London Studios as a spin-off from the reality TV hit series The Great British Bake Off which airs on BBC One. Each week, host Jo Brand is joined by three different celebrity Bake Off fans. Jo shines a spotlight on the good, the bad and the soggy bottomed from the week's episode with chat, unseen footage from the BBC One show and an interview with the week's eliminated baker. The studio audience are challenged to bring a bake in from home from the week's baking theme, be that bread, pastry, or cakes, and viewers are invited to share photos of their efforts too.

Playhouse Presents is a series of self-contained TV plays, made by British broadcaster Sky Arts. The series started airing on 12 April 2012, on Sky Arts 1. Each episode is written by a different writer and stars a different cast. The four-part adaptation of A Country Doctor's Notebook was also broadcast on the strand in December 2012. Sky Arts have announced that they are ordering a five-part spin-off of the third play, Nixon’s The One. They say the full cast, including Harry Shearer as Nixon and Henry Goodman as Kissinger, will return for the series run, which will be filmed in September 2012. The series will broadcast in 2013. The second series began airing in April 2013 featuring Kathy Burke, Frances Barber, Julia Davis, Idris Elba, Anna Friel, Rebecca Front, Stephen Graham, David Harewood, Ian Hart, Sharon Horgan, Mathew Horne, Suranne Jones, Kylie Minogue, Vanessa Redgrave, Peter Serafinowicz, Matt Smith, Johnny Vegas, Marc Warren, Jack Whitehall and Reggie Yates.

Gadget aficionado Stephen Fry chooses and presents his 100 all-time favourite contraptions, from the tin opener, trouser press and answering machine to the apple peeler, iron and iPod

Jo Brand's Big Splash is a British television series produced by Doghouse Media and What Larks! Productions for Dave. The show was part of Dave's investment into original comedy shows. Presented by comedian Jo Brand, it combined her stand-up comedy with various tasks involving water. The first episode originally aired on 22 September 2011 and the last episode aired on 20 October 2011.

Channel 4's Comedy Gala is a British stand-up comedy benefit show organised Channel 4 in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital. The gig is filmed live at the O2 Arena in London, and then broadcast later by Channel 4. An inaugural gala was held in 2010, while a second gala was held in 2011. A third Gala aired in May 2012. A fourth Gala was filmed on Saturday 18th May 2013 at O2 Arena.

A feuding double act try to make it in the cut-throat world of stand-up comedy.

Little Crackers is a series of Christmas short films featuring stars of British and Irish comedy.

Victoria Wood takes to the stage with an all female bill for a night of comedy in support of The British Heart Foundation to help raise awareness of heart disease in women.

Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie are to reunite for a TV special to mark the 30th anniversary of their partnership.

The search is on to find Britain's best young speaker. From across the UK, thousands of 14- to 18-year-olds applied in a bid to become The Speaker.

Commercial breakdown is a BBC/Celador light entertainment television programme which shows humorous television advertisements from around the world.

Argumental is a British improvised comedy panel game with Sean Lock as host, alongside two teams captained by Robert Webb and Seann Walsh, debating and arguing on various topics with help from various guests. It is made by independent production company Tiger Aspect Productions for Dave and made its debut on 27 October 2008. Series three was commissioned for Dave and four episodes from the second series aired on BBC Two, making it UKTV's most successful commission in terms of reach of audience. A fourth series began airing on Dave HD on 3 November 2011, with its second half still to be aired.

When Were We Funniest? is a Gold documentary series broadcast in 2008.

Jo Brand narrates a profile of the BBC's first flagship live music programme, The Old Grey Whistle Test, which ran from 1971-1987.

The rebirth of Amnesty International's legendary SECRET POLICEMAN'S BALL at the Royal Albert Hall on 14th October - after a 15 year hiatus - was a resounding success. Bigger, Better and Ballsier than ever before, 'The Ball In The Hall' is a non-stop, rapid-fire, relentless smorgasbord of comedy and music. 6,000 people turned up to create a fantastic atmosphere as some of the best contemporary comic and music talent from both sides of the Atlantic delivered one show-stopping performance after another. Featuring never-before-seen collaborations, brand new sketches, explosive stand-up, off-stage performances, surprise ingredients and an anthem for the world, there has been nothing like it in the comedy world for years.

29 Minutes of Fame is a British satirical celebrity quiz series which aired on BBC One on Fridays in early 2005. The show was presented by comedian Bob Mortimer. The show's two team captains were Jo Brand and Alistair McGowan, they were also joined by a regular panelist Sean Lock.

Shot live at the one off Comic Aid benefit gig at London’s Carling Apollo – which sold out in just three and a half minutes of tickets being put on sale – the DVD features the entire uncut show for all those unfortunate enough to have missed out on tickets. The 3 hour show sees Jonathan Ross, Jack Dee, Graham Norton, Julian Clary, and Lily Savage host a stellar comic line-up that includes; Lee Evans, Dawn French, Jimmy Carr, Ardal O’Hanlon, Johnny Vegas, Bill Bailey, Bo’ Selecta! star The Bear, Jo Brand, Jon Culshaw, Omid Djalili, Otis Lee Crenshaw, Eddie Izzard, The League Of Gentlemen with Miranda Richardson, Alistair McGowan, Dylan Moran, Dave Spikey, Simon Pegg & Jessica Stevenson. Psychological illusionist Derren Brown and international percussion sensation Stomp also present their own unique blend of stage entertainment.

Comic Relief Does Fame Academy is a spin-off of the original Fame Academy show where celebrities sing as students of the Academy. The programme was launched in 2003 to help raise money for the charities supported by Comic Relief, with the final of the show occurring on Red Nose Day. Coverage of the show was widely shown on BBC One, BBC Three, BBC Prime and the CBBC Channel. Many consider the celebrity version of the show to be far more successful than its predecessor. The Comic Relief series returned in 2005 and again in March 2007. It was announced by the BBC that Cat Deeley would not return because she was hosting So You Think You Can Dance. However, Patrick Kielty returned with co-host and host of the former spin-off show Claudia Winkleman.

Standup comdedy with Jo Brand recorded at her one-off show at the Adelphi Theatre, London in September 2003.

A re-cut version of the 1999 debut feature from writer/director Justin Kerrigan which focuses on one wild weekend in Cardiff. A group of five friends escape the drab mundanity of daily existence and sample a hedonistic cocktail of drugs, clubs and sex. Jip (John Simm) is a twenty-something shop worker, Lulu (Lorraine Pilkington) is a full-on clubber, Moff (Danny Dyer) is a chilled-out dope dealer who also happens to be the son of a policeman, whilst Koop (Shaun Parkes) works in a record shop and gets increasingly paranoid that someone will steal his girlfriend Nina (Nicola Reynolds). Together, the five friends move from nightclubs to parties, getting more and more stoned as the night progresses. The soundtrack features club favourites by Fat Boy Slim, Underworld and Primal Scream.

Head on Comedy was a comedy debate show hosted by Jo Brand in which two teams of three, captained by Bill Bailey and Ed Byrne, would debate trivial topics such as 'This house wants to be a man'. It ran for one series, consisting of six episodes.

Two friends try to track down their old nemesis Richard Herring to try to find out why on earth he is successful when they are not. The film is set against the madness of the 1995 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, was shot entirely on Super 8 film and was inspired by the films of Chris Marker and Nick Broomfield.

Jo Brand Through the Cakehole is a British stand-up comedy television series produced by Channel X, and starring Jo Brand as the show's host. It debuted on 30 December 1993 in the United Kingdom and was broadcast on Channel 4 for three years, from 1993 to 1996.

A documentary charting the history of Hastings Pier from its construction in 1872 through two major fires and also its use as a significant British music venue, playing host to gigs by Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Genesis, Tom Jones, Pink Floyd and The Sex Pistols.