News

Eddie Large, a British comedian who was best known as being one half of the Little and Large double act, has died after suffering with coronavirus. He was 78.

His son, Ryan McGinnis, confirmed the news on Facebook. “It is with great sadness that Mum and I need to announce that my dad passed away in the early hours of this morning. He had been suffering with heart failure and unfortunately, whilst in hospital, contracted the coronavirus, which his heart was sadly not strong enough to fight,” McGinnis said.

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Large’s agent told the Press Association news agency that his family were only able to contact the comedian...

British comedian Eddie Large, best known for being part of double act Little and Large, has died at the age of 78 after contracting coronavirus in hospital.

The star, who had been in hospital with heart failure, found fame alongside Syd Little in the 1970s and 80s.

They won TV talent show “Opportunity Knocks” and went on to have a long-running comedy sketch show on BBC One in the 1970s and 80s, which was watched by millions of TV viewers in the U.K.

His son, Ryan McGinnis, broke the news in a Facebook post, writing that his father caught Covid-19 while in hospital.

He wrote: “It is with great sadness that Mum and I need to announce that my Dad passed away in the early hours of this morning.

“He had been suffering with heart failure and unfortunately, whilst in hospital, contracted the coronavirus, which his heart was sadly not strong enough to fight.

Jenny Morrill Dec 20, 2016

Russ Abbot, Bullseye, Noel Edmonds and a film we all watched in the same room. Christmas TV was more exciting in the 80s...

Cast your mind back to when Christmas Day wasn't about Doctor Who followed by sticking something on Netflix until it was time to go watch the annual fist fight outside the pub.

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In the 80s, Christmas was about seeing which fantastic fare the TV had decided to bless us with. Of course, the more prepared among us knew this well in advance, having eagerly pored over the Radio Times/TV Times to check that Jimmy Cricket's Family Laugh 'n' Waz would be shown. There it was – right after Reflections On The Eucharist With The Reverend Paul Leyland.

Cleese and crew in 'secret talks', with a press conference imminent. Plus: is legendary comic Andy Kaufman really dead?

• Monty Python: five favourite sketches – video

This week's comedy news

The stars of Monty Python have announced a press conference this Thursday amid rumours of a reunion. They last worked as a team back in 1983, on the film The Meaning of Life. The Sun reports that the five surviving Pythons (John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Michael Palin) have spent months in "secret talks". Previous rumoured projects have come to nothing, with Idle once joking: "We would only do a reunion if [Graham] Chapman came back from the dead. So we're negotiating with his agent." The press conference is scheduled for midday 21 November at London's Playhouse Theatre. Meanwhile, as the British Comedy Guide report, ex-Pythons Palin and Jones have been filming new material together for the DVD release of...

So The Doctor's on yet another goodbye mission. Since bidding adieu to Amy and Rory at the end of The God Complex, nearly 200 years have passed. Now The Doctor's apparently facing the end of his days – note the word, apparently – by now, every man, woman, child, cat, dog, guinea pig, hamster and fly realised that The Doctor wouldn't die – you can't have a successful, long-running show and then just axe it without warning. Not even a cut-ridden BBC can kill off that indomitable Time Lord for good.

But hey – any excuse for yet another whistle-stop tour of old friends. Presumably, in the future, The Doctor will take this to the next level. He'll go out and buy himself a musty old copy of the Doctor Who A-z Encyclopaedia by Jean-Marc Lofficier and visit every last character he's met during his many lives – yes, right down to the bumbling Louvre Guide...

Chicago – It’s not uncommon to see truly talented people sucked into awful family fare. I think some actors, perhaps after doing a few too many “dark” roles in films aimed at adults, jump at the opportunity to do something light-hearted, fun, and for the little ones. How else to explain people as talented as Emily Blunt and Jason Segel getting sucked into the disappointing comedy “Gulliver’s Travels,” another piece of evidence in the mounting case against Jack Black?

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.0/5.0

Remember when Jack Black was the next comedy savior? He took small parts in the right movies (“Anchorman”), popped up in all the right places on TV, rocked out with Tenacious D, and delivered his best work with the spectacular “School of Rock.” A few miscast performances (“King Kong,” “The Holiday”) were forgivable but he was the main reason that “Nacho Libre” and “Year One” were nearly unbearable.

This Week in DVD & Blu-ray is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD and Blu-ray releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy and Fry’s. The King's Speech Approaching a story of monumental scope with charm and intimacy, The King's Speech is a finely crafted crowd-pleaser that plays fast and loose with history [1] but does so to convey a decidedly more human tale of finding one's inner strength in order to be heard. There's not a single surprising moment in the whole thing, as every element of the limply conventional narrative has been depicted in film on countless occasions — the movie of the week disorder, the reluctant leader, the unorthodox therapist/psychiatrist, etc. — but rarely have these humdrum plot mechanics been handled with such authority and wit. The acting is superb across the board, with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush marvelously portraying...

Frock by frock, gong by gong, gaffe by gaffe coverage of the 2011 Oscars, in which The King's Speech reigned victorious

News: The King's Speech crowned

Full list of winners

11.23pm: Welcome to the 83rd Academy Awards. The main action kicks off at 5pm Pst, 1am GMT, but before then we have the small matter of the red carpet histrionics to attend to. Please stick with us as we celebrate the winners and usher the losers on a one-way trip to Palookaville. It's an Oscar tradition that losing nominees are forced to lick the red carpet clean following the show so we'll stick around to see that too.

We'll be bringing you all the action from the Kodak theatre, Los Angeles as the Academy doles out its annual accolades. Will The King's Speech extend its dominion or will The Social Network have more friends? Is Black Swan the dark horse or...

Roll up! Roll up! Welcome to The Big Dipper that is season 19 of Doctor Who. Marvel at the swanky production values! Shield your eyes and protect your ears from the horror that is the terrible trio of companions! Gasp in wonder at how the season lurches giddily from one extreme to the other!

Season 19 has so many ups and downs, so many polar opposites that I feel queasy just typing this. Although it could have been the chicken curry that I had for tea. So far we've had the introspective, intelligent Castrovalva followed by Four To Doomsday - a story about overgrown, talking frogs. Then we have the multi-layered, surreal tour-de-force that is Kinda. And what do you know, we then head for The Visitation, which is generally about as sophisticated as an episode of Neighbours.

Actually, maybe that's not a bad thing. Brilliant though Kinda is, can you imagine...

Highlights of tonight’s show 10pm on Channel 4

9.30am

The housemates are woken up by the theme tune to The Magic Roundabout. Sam suggests they all try to think about what horrible things Big Brother will do to them this morning via the Magic Roundabout. Josie says “a never-ending roundabout and we have to stay on it all day.” Jj says to Sam “Lets hope the magic roundabout makes you shut the f*** up for 5 minutes.” Sam says Jj is a prick.

10.36am

Last Night Josie played a prank on Sam and put nail varnish on his toothbrush.

Sam asks Josie if she is scared about his revenge. Josie says she is s******* herself.

In the Diary Room Andrew says he was down on Friday because Ben left and Sam came in. Andrew says Sam needs to “watch what he says”, and that he “goes after Josie”. “I understand friendly banter,...

It's hard to believe now, but there was one point in the late '70s/early '80s when comedy double act Little & Large were considered possible successors to the great Morecambe & Wise. Their simple slapstick routines, unusual, contrasting body shapes and friendly family humour made them huge telly stars for over a decade. Syd 'Little' Little was the lynchpin behind their gags, cutting a sophisticated figure as the straightman, opposite the rotund Eddie Large. The rise of risque alternative comedy brought a rather abrupt end to their success and during the '90s, the pair were often mocked as old-fashioned and for being little more than a cheap Butlins act. After a seemingly endless run of pantos and summer seasons (more)...