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Here's Producer Julia McKenzie with this week's notes from the Now Show ideas meeting.

Marcus Brigstocke is back on the show this week from his stint in Spamalot and says:

"After 6 months of prancing about in musical theatre I am thrilled to be back on The Now Show. Seeing as it's cold and half of Britain is shut due to Arctic conditions I thought that this weekÌýI might talk about Global Warming. 'Oh the weather outside's frightful, but the Daily Express is so delightful...'"

Also on the show will be guest comedian Andi Osho along with Laura Shavin and Mitch Benn who'll be preparing a couple of topical songs for us.

The main story this week (unless you're snowed in) seems to be the waves and ripples issuing from WikiLeaks.ÌýThe difficult bit is gauging public reaction: as Hugh Dennis says, we're not really falling off our chairs to discover that gossip and private comments are exchanged on a diplomatic and international scale.

However, with the eyebrow-raising revelations about the Chinese government's reported views on North Korea, we intend to lead on the leaks, and Steve Punt would really like to know what your opinion is about them in general.

• Remember, this is the Comedy Blog and The Now Show, so if it's serious debate you're after, Have Your Say might be more suitable. Otherwise, leave a comment and tell the team: was it the right thing to leak the information andÌýare you shocked at the revelations?

ÌýThe Now Show continues on Fridays at 6.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4.

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Lee Mack is the guest host of Have I Got News For You this week, with none other than Ken Livingstone and Sarah Millican joining regular team captains Paul and Ian.

Here's a clip of Sarah on Live at the Apollo - but before you watch that, read on to see today's picture gag.

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Week three already, well I never did. Now, my internet friends, this episode from the day I thought of the story has been called the 'sexi-pode'. Oh yes, my alter-ego actually gets some male attention this week.

So prepare for my attempt at romance.Ìý Hopefully I will have pulled it off - as it very much were.Ìý (Steady on, family show.)ÌýÌý

I can reveal that I have not one, not two, but three suitors in this episode. I know! It's almost embarrassing.Ìý With an episode like that, there is a definite downside of having an eponymous sitcom, because I'll be in a meeting with a script editor who'll say "do we believe that man would try it on with Miranda?" And I have to go "I think Miranda has enough charm for him to be interested."Ìý And it all gets a little surreal and awkward!Ìý

But I can now divorce sitcom-Miranda from myself as it is definitely playing a character. Disclaimer:Ìý very little or nothing is based on my real life, I promise you!

But hopefully the three suitors might be prophetic in my real life - that would be nice. Well, I hear George Clooney is still single for one, and I've always had a penchant for Tennis champ Goran Ivanisevic, if anyone knows him…

Hope you enjoy the 'sexi-pode'.

Miranda xÌý ()

Cringe of the Week

Has any of this reminded you of your own 'Miranda moments'? If so, join in the confessional fun in the latest Cringe of the Week.

• Plus, watch behind-the-scenes clips and Miranda's Red Button interviews

Miranda continues on Mondays at 8.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two. Read more from Miranda.

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Did you catch Have I Got News For You on Friday? Ah, but did you also catch the extended Have I Got a Bit More News For You version on Saturday? You did? Great. Just checking.

Now read on for today's WikiLeaky picture gag.

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We revealed some more of the many faces of Matt Lucas and David Walliams in Come Fly With Me earlier this week. Now, here they are as two more!

Read on to meet air stewards Fearghal and Lee and then 'check-in' online!

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Hugh's voice has recovered and Jon Culshaw is a guest on tonight's Now Show, which promises to be a corker. Just listen to this preview clip!

If you enjoyed Jon Culshaw as Graham Norton in that preview, here's a little bit you might like from The Impressions Show:

Tune in to The Now Show tonight at 6.30pm on Radio 4, then catch Saturday's Impressions Show repeat at 6pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Tonight's Have I Got News For You guest host will be Martin Clunes, with Grayson Perry and Jimmy Carr joining regular team captains Ian and Paul. Ward off the cold with laughter by tuning in at 9pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One.

Until then, read on to see today's picture gag.

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I hope you're enjoying the new series of Miranda. Judging by your comments, it looks like you are!

Just before the show returned we introduced a new feature to the blog: Miranda's Cringe of the Week. The Miranda production team would love to hear your real-life cringeworthy moments, so leave them in the comments below!

Here's this week's inspiration from Miranda herself:

"I was out shopping yesterday when a gorgeous shop assistant asked me if I needed any help. As I turned around I felt a sneeze coming on. When nothing came out I panicked and persisted to scrunch up my face every few seconds, as if having a facial twitch was less embarrassing than sneezing. And OBVIOUSLY, as I was mid one facial scrunch, my ex walked past."

And here's some of your latest cringes from Twitter!

: [I] went and moaned in the phone shop about an "unpaid bill" and as I went to storm off, I walked into their glass door!
Ìý
: Cough outrage Tuesday when, in a vain attempt to get to the corridor, I overstrained and broke wind with frightful venom!

Have you done anything that can beat Miranda's cringe? Leave a comment below or tag your tweet #mirandamoments on Twitter.

Following last week's sudden bout of voicelessness, here's a reassuring message from Hugh Dennis: "Back on the show this week and able to speak, with part of me wishing I couldn't as we battle to extract the comedy value from the Irish debt crisis."

Now Show Producer Julia McKenzie adds...

Had a long writers' meeting today as we just couldn't escape the fact that the Irish bailout and Eurozone are still very much at the top of the agenda. Europe is not an area that usually generates a lot of passion in the British public and is also not known as fertile territory for comedy, but as ever we like a challenge.

It's a story that is constantly evolving and of course highly influenced in many ways by the international response of the media. Now Portugal is on everyone's lips - let's see what happens next.

We’re also wondering what 'Day X' has in store for us tomorrow, with the predicted walk-outs by pupils and students, so let's see what that amounts to - apparently there's already been a few sit-ins in lecture halls around the country and we're wondering how you can tell.

Mitch Benn has bagsied the story about the Pope's partial change of tack on condoms (everyone buckle-up for that one) and Jon Holmes meanwhile is intrigued by the controversy of the Accused drama last night and the Army. Plus our guest is the brilliant Jon Culshaw who we intend to put hard to work with plenty of impressions.

• Watch John Culshaw in action in sketches from The Impressions Show
• Read more from The Now Show
  

The Now Show continues this Friday at 6.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4.

Are you ready? These are just some of the astonishing range of characters Matt Lucas and David Walliams will be playing in their new airport-based mockumentary Come Fly With Me:

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's cameras have been given unprecedented access to one of Britain's busiest airport terminals. For months, the producers have followed anyone and everyone to produce this portrait of life at the cutting edge of aviation. From check-in staff to cabin crew, from pilots to paparazzi, and from low-cost airline owners to their passengers, all human life is here – and all played by Lucas and Walliams.

We'll be introducing two new characters here on the Comedy Blog later this week, but until then, why not re-aquaint yourselves with Melody and Keeley and Ian and Taaj or even being your journey by checking-in online?

It's been a whole week - oh, how I've missed you. How've you been?

Right that's enough of that, back to me. So, here we are: Episode Two. Bit of a strange episode this - I usually choose a theme for each episode and try and make the stories as interesting as possible with as many twists and turns around that theme, but this episode I remember throwing more threads than normal at it. So hopefully it will gel and not be too manic!

We see the return of annoying couple Chris and Alison (played by John Finnemore and Margaret Cabourn-Smith) - they were in the tango lesson in last series episode Teacher.Ìý They aren't based on any couple I know, but more the fear of meeting partners who are nauseatingly 'couple-y'. Is that a word? It is now.

Couples that speak at the same time, think it fun to wear matching jumpers, show far too many public displays of affection and give far too much information about their personal life when we really really really don't want to hear it. Particularly when it comes to breast feeding or how somebody's labour was - shush, shut up, we don't want to know.

This episode also has my favourite ever pratfall. In fact, I will call it a stunt - because it did feel like that and was very nerve wracking to do. I might suggest the lovely ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ website people show it to you as the exclusive clip this week because, if I may be so bold, I am very proud of it.Ìý Hope you like:

Adieu till next week.Ìý Miranda x ()

More Miranda

"The writing is a long and arduous process and the least favourite part of it for me. It's not something I leap out of bed in the morning for. It requires patience (which I lack), discipline (which I lack), nerves of steel (which I lack), unending energy (which I lack) and hard core tea drinking and biscuit eating (this is where I excel)."

• Miranda describes the process of making her sitcom over on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TV Blog
• Submit your own Miranda-style mishaps in Miranda's Cringe of the Week
• Watch behind-the-scenes clips and Miranda's Red Button interviews

Miranda continues on Mondays at 8.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two

Hold on to your hats! The Now Show returns to Radio 4 tonight at 6.30pm.

Here's Producer Julia McKenzie with the gossip:

A few hours before the recording we took a call from Hugh Dennis who was just about able to croak out the alarming message that he'd lost his voice and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ doctors had signed him off work!

So a few calls were hastily made and luckily the excellent ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio regular Laurence Howarth (Safety Catch, The Jason Byrne Show, Look Away Now) was able to step in to be an extra member of the cast whilst Steve frantically zipped through the script re-allocating parts.

Here's a sneak preview:

Get well soon Hugh, we want you back next week! NB this week's stand-up guest is Ian Stone and next week we'll be joined by the mighty Jon Culshaw.

Totally Topical Spout

If you're a fan of topical comedy, here are a few treats from the Comedy website this week that you might enjoy:

• A Guide to I'm a Celebrity Contestants
• Save the Walkman!
• Royal Engagement Facebook Fail
• Strictly... Gone Bonkers?

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Ìý

Have I Got News For You is on in just six hours time! Occupy yourself until then by gazing intently at today's topical picture gag... read on to see it.

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Steve Punt adds:

Just finished our first meeting for the new series of The Now Show. Mid-way through a discussion about Irish debt and the complexities of recession economics, someone poked their head round the door and said "Prince William's getting married".Ìý So we know what tomorrow's headlines will be. What with that and I'm A Celebrity, the news-trolley is now packed with calories. Quite how many of them we can cram in, we'll find out.

The Now Show returns this Friday at 6.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4.

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Clive Anderson and Kevin Bridges join Ian and Paul on Have I Got News For You this Thursday - with Damian Lewis back in the guest host's chair. Here's an interview with Damian when he last hosted the show.

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But enough about Thursday! What about today? Read on to see today's topical picture gag.

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We also opened the Spout doors for anyone to send us links to fun things they've seen or made. Not surprisingly some of the stuff we received was quite random.

Like the videos from Joni Browne, an office worker who stares at spreadsheets all day. We received another video from her only this morning. It looks like she was watching I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! over the weekend:

• Find out what happened when Joni gave up her car
• See Have I Got News For You's I'm a Celebrity... picture gag

Well hello my old chums - here we are again. Series Two.Ìý Whoop whoop. Firstly, huge thanks to all of you who watched and supported the show.Ìý It means a lot. I still don't think it has sunk in that people actually liked the show. You get a series, do your best and work hard but don't really expect people to latch on to your sense of humour - comedy is so subjective and audiences can be tough, so I feel very lucky.

It has been really hard over the last eight months writing the second series - mainly I have been in a blind panic!Ìý But now Episode One is about to air and there is nothing I can do about it - eeeeeek.Ìý Here we go…

The first question people are asking me is: did Gary go to Hong Kong/will he come back? Well, the answer to that is so top secret that not even I know the answer - and I wrote the episode. I will reveal this though: this series there are some serious boy problems and excitements along the way.Ìý Oooh, web exclusive alert. Don't say I don't treat you right. For more titbits (fun to say) I'm on Twitter.

Right, well here's hoping you like Episode One (preview above!).Ìý Cheerio for now.Ìý

Miranda x

The second series of Miranda starts tonight at 8.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two. The production team would also like to read your cringeworthy stories in our Miranda's Cringe of the Week feature, so get rememberating!

Returning Series and New Shows

New Psychoville

Psychoville is coming back in 2011 - this is a tantelising taste of what's in store. In the meantime, have you discovered Nurse Kenchington's ?

New Miranda

Miranda is back for a brand new series! It doesn't matter what she attempts in life, whether it's dating or simply dealing with her overbearing mother, Miranda always seems to fall flat - quite literally. And as an extra treat, each week on the Red Button and online, Miranda Hart discusses the inspiration behind the characters with a special guest. Her first guest is good friend Clare Balding, and they discuss how their time together at school has shaped the character Tilly.

Watch Miranda on Mondays at 8.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two

New Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle

The first series of Comedy Vehicle marked Stewart's return to television after a decade's absence: the gap before the second series has been considerably shorter, but no less anticipated. While the new series getting made, here's a classic clip from series one:

And don't forget the extra series we made in which Executive Producer Armando Iannucci grilled Stewart.

Episodes

Episodes is the story of a happily married English couple, Sean and Beverly Lincoln who also happen to be successful producers of a hit British TV show called Lyman's Boys. At an awards ceremony in London they are wooed by a hugely powerful and charismatic US network executive who persuades them to move out to LA and remake their hit show for an American audience – with disastrous results. Oh, and their lead actor is replaced by a certain Matt Leblanc...

Read more about Episodes at the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Press Office

Recent Favourites

But we're not just talking about the future. There's already been some great stuff on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two this year, including:

The Trip

An improvised tour of the north of England reunites comedy favourites Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. In the style of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the story is fictional... but based around their real personas. Gulp.

The Trip continues on Mondays at 10pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two

Rev

Meet The Rev. Adam Smallbone (In the Loop's Tom Hollander). He’s a Church of England Vicar, newly promoted from a sleepy rural parish to the busy, inner-city world of St Saviour’s in East London. It’s a world he has little experience of... and it shows. It really shows.

Whites

Set in the kitchen of a country house hotel, Whites followed the trials and tribulations of head chef Roland White (Alan Davies) and his long suffering sous chef Bib (Darren Boyd) - not to mention their ambitious new team member Skoose (Stephen Wight).

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Our News Quiz insider writes...

And so, the last News Quiz of the series is in the bag, with the usual funnies from our esteemed panel of Andy Hamilton, Miles Jupp, Phill Jupitus and Jeremy Hardy. This week, as broken glass is being cleared away from the streets of London, the teams battle it out to cure the nation's ills and entertain the few students that are staying indoors.

And here's a cutting sent in by Adam Di Chiara:

We're off air now until January, but in the meantime do please send us any cuttings to news.quiz@bbc.co.uk, or:

The News Quiz
1st Floor Western House
99 Great Portland Street
London
W1A 1AA

The News Quiz is broadcast on Radio 4 on Fridays at 6.30pm, and is available for download as a podcast.

Ìý

Have I Got News For You continues Tonight at 9pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One - with Jo Brand as guest host. Until then, you can watch Jo on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four's Getting On...

... and read on for today's picture gag!

Ìý

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It's Stephen time again! How we love him: did you enjoy '³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Brunch' on the show last week? There's plenty more where that came from.

Stephen writes:

Big love to the Stephen K Amos massive! I'm feeling on top form after an amazing summer. Although I didn't get much time to sunbathe in my garden. I call it a garden but it's more like an overgrown jungle with foxes instead of lions. Actually it's a bit small for jungle... this is London so really it's about the size of a window box.

I've been up and down the country all festival season. There was Latitude, which was pure class, and The Regents Park Festival, which was upper class; not to mention the Ealing Festival, which is one of my favourite London events. All great outdoor shows. There is just a fantastic mood and vibe when the weather is great, which compliments al fresco comedy.

And I got to spend the whole of August up at the Edinburgh Festival for the tenth time. I'm thinking of moving up there - for the tenth time. The whole experience was completely unforgettable. If you haven't yet, you've got to go! The Buzz was incredible this year and, as always, the Scots were perfect hosts. They don't ask "how are you?" but "what do you drink?"

Every day I had to rocket up eight flights of stairs to get to my rented dig and I had to climb a hill to get to my show. After week two I felt like Rocky circa 1976. You should see the size of my legs! I'm going to need all of that power this winter as I'm taking my Edinburgh show on tour all around the UK.

And ticking away in the background all year long has been the most phenomenal project I've ever been a part of: my ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two show, which has been hitting your screens for a couple of weeks now. I hope you're enjoying it! It's been almost six months since we started writing and practising material, filming sketches and finding my guests and I can hardly believe it's now transmitting. There has been so much talent involved in the show, we filmed so much material and I hope you're going to love it. And don't forget to go online and see what little nuggets of gold we've put on the web. Until next season - keep laughing!

The Stephen K Amos show continues on Fridays at 10pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two. Read more from Stephen on the Comedy Blog.

The new series of Miranda starts this Monday! To celebrate, we're kicking off with a new feature in which you can share your Miranda moments with fellow fans. Here's the titular lady herself with some inspiration:

"I had to go to an osteopath this week who put me in to position which required my knees upon my chest. And cue the loudest fart you might ever have heard."

Have you done anything as Miranda this week? Let us know in the comments below, and the Miranda production team will choose their favourites to be featured on the Miranda Programme Page.

Come back very soon for more from Miranda herself on the Comedy Blog.

Last night we hosted a comedy night curated by for : it was a showcase of funny videos from our website and from the internet at large, with live stand-up from Holly Walsh and live yoghurt-punching from Adam Riches.

It was also a chance for Internet Week participants to find out how to get involved with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ comedy website.

Many laughs were had - and if you were there but want to watch them again, or you weren't there and missed out, never fear! Now you can recreate the experience right here, right now, but on a smaller screen. That's the magic of the internet. Here's a list of videos that were played:

From ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Comedy

• Misery Bear - Dawn of the Ted
• Three Scientists - Invisible (coming soon!)
• Holly Walsh for Spout - Message to the Chilean Miners
• Amazing Wizards - Pocket Rocket
• Doc Brown - Grandpa Dave
• 2009 Unwrapped - Masterchef
• Spout - Normal Activity
• Adam Buxton's Nutty Room
• The Social Network: OUTRAGE

Masterchef:

Curated by Popcorn

Beatles 3000:

Thanks to everyone who came, and enjoy the rest of Internet Week Europe!

Our News Quiz insider writes...

As Broadcasting House is currently closed for the final phase of refurbishment, the News Quiz team decamped to London's fashionable Drill Hall for this week's recording. Here's Sandi soundchecking under some extraordinarily bright studio lights with newsreader Harriet Cass:

This week's panel are Andy Hamilton, Fred MacAulay, Jeremy Hardy and newcomer Bridget Christie. In this audio clip, Bridget offers her 'swingers party' theory of Anglo-French joint military action...

And here's a cutting sent in by Catherine Thorn:

Cuttings can be emailed to news.quiz@bbc.co.uk, or posted to:

The News Quiz
1st Floor Western House
99 Great Portland Street
London
W1A 1AA

The News Quiz is broadcast on Fridays at 6.30pm on Radio 4, and is available for download as a podcast.

As of today, you'll find a feed of our latest videos on the homepage of bbc.co.uk. As it's a new 'widget', you might need to scroll to the bottom to find it - but you can then drag it wherever you like by clicking the top bar. Like this:

We recommend dragging it right to the top of the page. But then, we would...

The Stephen K Amos Show started last Friday on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two. We've been chatting to Stephen all year, and we wanted to share with you how he felt after finishing recording the show this summer - it's quite an undertaking, a six part comedy series!

Stephen wrote:

It seems a distant memory arriving at the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ to set up the office, which has now become like a second home to me. Except there are no bedrooms and I'm not sure if security would take kindly to me kipping in the canteen all night. Now I know what they mean when they say a production team is like a family. On second thoughts, if it was like my family there'd have been more tears, tantrums and stony silences - okay, there was that one day when we ran out of Jaffa Cakes...

We've been locked in writers' rooms for days on end - living on a diet of tea, jammy dodgers and more tea. But now, having completed six shows, material for online and Red Button, we finally await the final edit. Then, it's all over. Phew! After all this I need a holiday.

I suggested that to my agent and she said sure I should have a holiday - how about a nice month in Scotland? I thought "Great, I'll go!"... then I realised that it coincides with the Edinburgh Fringe. So now I'm booked in for a four-week stint at the Pleasance Grand. No holiday for me then! The plus side is that I am still on a bit of a high following the recording of my own TV show, so I should be full of funny bones.

Meanwhile, it's a bit sad as they dismantle the beautiful set I've had built. I'm going to get hold of the chaise longue that's been my set dressing for the last six weeks. What can I say? I'm a sucker for class. So that'll be my keepsake - don't know where one'll put it! But I will take it, because my mum has her eye on it too.

Here's Stephen's chaise lounge in action in a web-exclusive sketch:

If I had to decide what's been the best thing about the last few months there's only one answer - my incredible team. We have had a laugh, we have worked hard, we have been tired, I won't get a holiday but I wouldn't change anything for the world.

The Stephen K Amos show continues on Fridays at 10pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two. Read more from Stephen on the Comedy Blog.

Oliver Lansley, co-creator of Whites, writes...

So here we are, Episode Six, the end of the series and the end of a long and eventful journey for all those involved in the making of Whites. We really hope you've enjoyed the series and it's conclusion in this final episode.

Watching the reaction to Whites throughout the weeks has been fascinating and seeing how often it's been described in terms of 'drama' is particularly interesting. Matt and I always had very strong feelings about where we wanted to take this series but I don't think we have ever thought about the show in terms of it being a 'drama' as such. We've only ever thought in terms of the stories we wanted to tell. We knew we didn't want to make a 'normal' comedy show. We didn't want a laughter track, we didn't want to fill it with 'gags' and we felt very strongly that, particularly in episodes Five and Six, we wanted push the characters and do things that are probably quite unconventional for a half-hour comedy.

I remember when we wrote the first drafts for epiosdes Five and Six, we wrote them in that order and the decision to carry the story over the two episodes wasn't planned and was something we were unsure we'd be allowed to get away with.

The convention is usually to have stand alone episodes so that an audience can pick it up at any time, or so the order can be changed around after the show's been made. We took a few risks with these last two eps. Particularly in Episode Six where very little of it actually takes place in the kitchen, we're almost all in a brand new locations and there are huge sections - particularly the laundry room sequence - where there are basically no jokes. There's even a dance routine in it!

We just felt very strongly this is where we wanted the show to go and I remember when we submitted the episodes we were just waiting for a reaction; thinking that the producers and execs were going to think that we'd totally lost our minds and that we would have to re-write the whole thing. But miraculously the response that came back to us was really positive, and to their great credit we were encouraged to go for it. So we did, and we really hope it's paid off and you enjoyed Episode Six as a real finale to our series and a suitable climax for our characters.

In this behind the scenes clip you can see the legend that is Stephen Wight preparing and rehearsing his 'dance' for the final episode (and bizarrely you can also see him wearing some pink stripper high heels, but that's a very different story!). The footage is of when Stephen took me and Matt upstairs into the production office with the choreographer Nadia and they showed us the dance for the first time. It was a brilliant moment.

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