Sad to hear that Shaw Taylor died at his home of the Isle of Wight today. He was 90. I was fortunate enough to spent some time with him when he starred opposite Jack Douglas in a Shanklin Theatre production of the Brian Clemens and Dennis Spooner comedy thriller ‘A Sting in the Tail’. An actor before, during, and after ‘Police 5’, Shaw Taylor left a mark in comedy with a cameo as himself in the 1977 film ‘Adventures of a Private Eye’. He also hosted the 1973 television programme ‘What A Carry On!’, which showcased the opening night of the West End revue ‘Carry On London!’. He was a thoroughly charming chap.

It was off to Jongluers Camden last night for the Chortle Awards. The laughs and wine flowed, with such diverse talents as Richard Herring, Su Pollard, Matt Berry, Nancy Dell’Olio, Christopher Biggins, Norman Lovett, and Hattie Hayridge dishing out the prizes. I was delighted to see Reece Shearsmith pick up the TV award for ‘Inside No. 9’, while other notable winners included Stewart Lee for Best DVD, ‘No Such Thing As A Fish’ for the Internet award, and Katherine Ryan for Club Comic. The final accolade went to the Monty Python team, their O2 reunion shows being named Event of the Year. Terry Jones was on hand to accept the award.

This month’s ‘Robert Ross Requests the Pleasure…’ at the Museum of Comedy in Bloomsbury is on Sunday the 29th March from 4pm. It promises to be an epic occasion as my very special guests are Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Through conversation ranging from their first meeting at Oxford University, to the O2 Monty Python reunion shows of last year, this will be a gallop through 50 years of classic comedy you simply can’t afford to miss.

A reflective day of celebration on what *should* have been the 57th birthday of Dr. The Rik Mayall. It still seems utterly, utterly wrong for me to write of Rik in the past tense. In London, The Rik Mayall Marathon Convention saw fans, friends and colleagues foregather in his name, while across the nation and beyond, social media was awash with his devilish grin, poignant words, and affectionate two-finger salute. Quite right too.

It seems impossible to believe that it is twenty, long years since we lost the unique Vivian Stanshall: singer-songwriter, poet, communicator extraordinaire, multi-instrumentalist, mentalist, professional eccentric, and purveyor of inspired, therapeutic lunacy. A glass or two was raised in his honour. It’s what he would have wanted…

Great fun at the Museum of Comedy with this month’s Robert Ross Requests the Pleasure requesting the pleasure of my old friend, Liz Fraser. Following a screening of the first episode of ‘Citizen James’, the BBC series Liz starred in opposite Sid James and Bill Kerr, the appreciative audience was regaled with tales of Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers and, suitably enough in the Cooper Room, the mighty Tommy himself. There was even the inevitable duet on ‘Daisy, Daisy’ with Liz’s beloved Basset Hound, Brodie!

A thoroughly enjoyable first Renown Pictures Film Festival at the Watersmeet theatre, Rickmansworth. It was a delight to bump in to my old chum, Brian Murphy, and follow his official opening of the event with a truncated chat on the ‘Forgotten Heroes of Comedy’. I was thrilled at the huge audience and, thankfully, they all laughed in the right places! I fashioned the talk to be more Renown friendly, so gems featuring Freddie Frinton and Hylda Baker took centre stage. Many thanks to Sarah and her team for a brilliantly organised event, and here’s to the next time!

A delightful interview at the Museum of Comedy when I requested the pleasure of the delectable Francoise Pascal for my monthly live podcast recording. An enthusiastic audience laughed in all the right places at ‘Kill or Cure’, the Mind Your Language episode screened, and were entertained by tales of Barry Evans, Peter Sellers and Rex Harrison, to name but a few! My next Museum of Comedy event is on Sunday, the 22nd February.

On Sunday the 18^th January, I’m requesting the pleasure of Francoise Pascal at the Museum of Comedy. You can expect tales of Peter Sellers and saucy seventies sitcoms. If you want to be in the audience, tickets can be bought here

Sad to round up a few show business deaths of people who I admired professionally and adored socially. Just before Christmas that twinkling wag Jeremy Lloyd died at the age of 84. As an actor – in everything from ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ to ‘Doctor in Clover’ – he had an impeccable, raffish charm. As a writer – of such perennial sitcom favourites as ‘’Are You Being Served?’ and ‘’Allo, ‘Allo’ – he had a robust flair for the bawdy. A fortnight later, Jeremy’s ‘Whodunnit?’ co-creator Lance Percival died at 81. As a member of the ‘That Was the Week That Was’ team, his satirical calypsos touched several nerves and he made his mark in the films of Gerald Thomas – ‘Carry On Cruising’, ‘Twice Round the Daffodils’, ‘Raising the Wind’, ‘The Big Job’ – as often as not opposite his good friend Sid James.

Brian Clemens, who died at the age of 83, remains one of the most imaginative and inspiring of television writers. Creating ‘The Avengers’, ‘The Professionals’ and ‘Thriller’, his Hitchcock-like anthology series, Brian also wrote and directed the revolutionary Hammer horror film ‘Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter’. A brilliant, modest man, his work philosophy was simple: “There’s no mystery to writing: arse to chair, pen to paper”. Rest in peace, gentlemen.