A very sad week for British film and television this week: Sir Norman Wisdom, a true legend of comedy, passed away at the ripe old age of 95. Director Roy Ward Baker whose credits include the Titanic drama ‘A Night to Remember’, Hammer horror ‘Scars of Dracula’ and television episodes of ‘The Avengers’ died at 93. He had shared his vivid memories of working with a pre-comedy Sid James in ‘Paper Orchid’ for Robert’s biography of 2009. And prolific character actress Brenda Cowling – best-loved for comedy roles in Fawlty Towers: ‘The Germans’, Carry On Girls and as house-keeper Mrs. Lipton in Jimmy Perry and David Croft’s ‘You Rang, M’Lord’ died in Denville Hall at 85.

Talking of ‘Proud of the B.B.C.’, Robert joined Mitch, his delightful family, Bob the director and a lovely bunch of fellow Mitch-followers outside Broadcasting House to shoot a music video: guerrilla filmmaking style. Hilarious times in the rain and a real sense of – slightly nerdy – community. A wonderful experience. Look out for it on YouTube soon…and buy the single. It really is a classic.

Mitch Benn and the Distractions at the Central Studio, Basingstoke. Robert hadn’t been back to the venue since his days at Queen Mary’s College when he was eighteen. So, years ago! Kirsty Newton and Ivor Shepherd gave their usual consummate support throughout an epic 2-hour show. Musical genius. Check Mitch’s website: www.mitchbenn.com for further tour dates. The show mixes fantastic tracks from the latest album, ‘Where Next?’, with crowd-pleasing classics like ‘Macbeth (My Name Is)’, ‘Stinky Pants’, ‘IKEA’ and ‘Sing Like An Angel’. The new song, ‘Proud of the B.B.C.’ will make you swell with pride and wipe a tear from the eye.

Fun social times and productive chatter with Sarah-Jane Honeywell and Toby Dale, a little bit of chat about ‘The Goodies’ at 40 at the Barbican Centre and then Sir Michael Caine interviewed at the National Film Theatre. Sir Michael was promoting his new autobiography, ‘The Elephant to Hollywood’. A true legend. Sadly, the day was marred by the death of another legend, Tony Curtis. From the spell-binding (‘The Defiant Ones’, ‘The Sweet Smell of Success’, ‘The Boston Strangler’) to the joyous (‘Some Like it Hot’, ‘Operation Petticoat’, ‘The Persuaders!’), he was a true star.

The new series of ‘The Stanley Baxter Playhouse’ kicks off with Rona Munro’s ‘The Porter’s Story’. A clever, affectionate and hilarious take on ‘MacBeth’ with Gordon Kennedy as the would-be King, Siobham Redmond as Lady M and Stuart McQuarrie as the permanently drunk King Duncan. A civilized delight and the perfect showcase for Baxter’s laser-sharp comedy acting.

And so the end of ‘The Young Ones’ – the new reality show, not the 80s comedy series or the 60s Cliff Richard hit. One of the most moving, hilarious and life-affirming television experiences of recent years. The laughter of Dickie Bird, the tears of Lionel Blairs and Derek Jameson’s struggle with socks were highlights. Although emotions were high as Kenneth Kendall pampered dogs, Sylvia Syms bounded with children and Liz Smith picked up her paint brushes again. A treat.

A trip to the Richmond theatre to see the matinee performance of ‘Morecambe’ starring Robert’s good pal Bob Golding. A brilliant performance – of course – was enhanced even further by the presence of Caron Gardner who had sparred with the ‘boys’ in many of their classic 1960s ATV series ‘Two of a Kind’.

Catching up with the second episode of BBC3’s brilliant situation comedy ‘Him and Her’ as well as the start of the new series of E4’s ‘The Inbetweeners’. A new Golden Age of British television comedy continues.

The New theatre, Oxford for Colin Baker’s much anticipated performance as Inspector Morse in Alma Cullen’s ‘House of Ghosts’. Colin’s understanding of the character and mercurial performance was supported by thoughtful performances from Andrew Bone as Lewis and David Acton as Lawrence Baxter. Gay Soper stole countless scenes as the ponderous, pickled ex-leading lady Verity Carr. For further information, reviews and tour dates please look at http://www.freewebs.com/colinbaker/latestnews.htm.

The ’40 Years Young’ party at the Young Vic started with a joyous on-stage celebration of the theatre’s heritage. Stand-out moments included a rolling, play-skipping salute to Shakespeare: with stand-out performances by Rudolph Walker and Christopher Timothy, an extract from Arthur Miller’s ‘Enemy of the People’ and Jim Dale reuniting with ‘Scarpino’ co-stars Nicky Henson and Sam Kelly. Founding father Frank Dunlop was suitably lauded while David Lan delivered an ode to the theatre in answer to Laurence Olivier’s address from 1970. A hilarious drinks party – with prices sometimes blissfully set at 1970 – rolled on with laughter, gossip and pared-back performance. The perfect tribute.