Armstrong & Miller to reunite for one night only

Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller haven't worked together for several years, but they're back together for one night only to present With Great Pleasure At Christmas, to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Day.

They'll talk about the books, poems, and much more that have inspired them. The show is being recorded in front of a live audience in central London on the evening of Monday 21st November. Apply here for tickets!

Journalists Pointless Celebrities, 5th November

Serving up an explosive Pointless Celebrities for Guy Fawkes Night at 6.05pm are a group of well-known journalists.

Taking part are Jane Moore and Kevin O'Sullivan, Miranda Sawyer and Tony Parsons, Toby Young and Melissa Kite, and Lizo Mzimba and Frank Gardner.

Alexander Armstrong to perform at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance

Alexander Armstrong will be among the performers in the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, which will be broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall on BBC1 at 9pm on Saturday 12th November, in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen, members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister and leaders of the opposition together with senior members of the military.

The line-up also includes Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, Laura Mvula, Birdy, the Royal Air Force Squadronaires, and the Band of HM Royal Marines. It will mark the centenaries of the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Jutland, the 25th anniversary of the Gulf War and the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire.

Comedians Pointless Celebrities, 29th October

Comedians Pointless Celebrities is on Saturday 29th October at 6pm. Taking part are Hal Cruttenden and Justin Moorhouse, Rhona Cameron and Sean Hughes, Jeremy Hardy and Francesca Martinez, Robert Webb and Isy Suttie.

 There are some very good people here: comedians who have been on before, some doing well ( Hal Cruttenden) and some...well, not so much (Rhona Cameron). It's also great to see newer comedians like Francesca Martinez on the sbow.

Yep. I'm looking forward to this one.

Children's BAFTA nomination for Hey Duggee

Following on the heels of its International Emmy Kids Award nomination, Hey Duggee (narrated by Alexander Armstrong) has been nominated for a Children's BAFTA in the Pre-School category.

Children aged seven to 14 can cast their vote in the various categories until 18th November. The awards will be presented on 20 November. Our best wishes are with Hey Duggee!

Hey Duggee nominated for International Emmy Kids Award

Hey Duggee, narrated by Alexander Armstrong, has been nominated in the Pre-School category of the International Emmy Kids Awards, along with shows from France, Brazil, and South Korea.

Overall there are 28 nominations in 7 categories, spanning 13 countries. The awards will be presented in Cannes, France on Tuesday April 4, 2017. We wish Hey Duggee well.

Hunderby

Sky has been repeating series 1 of the macabre comedy Hunderby, which features Alexander Armstrong as the perverted priest Brother Joseph.

Sky subscribers can catch up on the series on Sky Go. Highly recommended for those with a dark sense of humour.

Alexander Armstrong's new album is out soon!

Alexander Armstrong's new album, Upon a Different Shore, comes out on Friday 28th October. His first disc, A Year of Songs, went straight to the top of the classical charts, and even reached No.6 in the general album charts.

The new collection is remarkably eclectic, with songs ranging from the Stranglers to Pink Floyd to Vaughan Williams. It's conceived of as a whole, 'a modern symphony';

Xander said:

On paper it looks like madness, but in reality I’m thrilled with the results.We had the idea to create beautiful soundscapes with textures of orchestra, acoustic instruments, voice and choirs to take the listener to somewhere quite magical… a different shore!

 The album is available to pre-order on Amazon and iTunes, and from all usual sources.

Alexander Armstrong to appear on Songs of Praise

Alexander Armstrong will be singing with the Royal Holloway College Chapel Choir and the Boys Choir from Trinity School, Croydon on Songs of Praise, on Sunday 23rd October at 4.30pm on BBC1. The episode marks the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip which killed 116 children and 28 adults.

Xander will be performing Peter Skellern's Hymn Song, which appears on his new album Upon A Different Shore.

New Pointless is back soon!

Series 16 of Pointless - yes, that's brand new shows - will be on our screens from Monday 24th October. I make that time to celebrate!

No, I don't know how long the run of new shows will last before the Beeb get a rush of blood to the head again and put repeats back on. Maybe even through to Christmas? Here's hoping.

Pointless nominations in the NTAs

The longlist for the National Television Awards is out, and there's voting to be done.

Pointless is nominated for Best Daytime Show, Pointless Celebrities for Best Entertainment Programme, and both Xander and Richard are nominated as Best Presenter.

Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 23rd October. Please make your vote Pointless!

1970s Pointless Celebrities, 22nd October

There's a 1970s special of Pointless Celebrities on 22nd October at 5.45pm. Taking part are Pan's People dancers Dee Dee Wilde and Babs Powell, boxer John Conteh and footballer Alan Mullery, Blake's Seven stars Michael Keating and Jacqueline Pearce, and Martin Lee and Sandra Stevens from Brotherhood of Man. 

Last time there was a 1970s special, it resulted in some wonderful fake face topiary.. Can we hope for similar? Only time will tell.

Without A Song video released

Alexander Armstrong has released a video for his recording of Without A Song.



The track will feature on Xander's new album, Upon A Different Shore.. It includes an eclectic mix of music, from Vaughan Williams to the Stranglers, and even a much more recent tune – Kygo’s Firestone which was a top ten hit in 2015. The album also features Xander's professional debut as an oboist.

He said:

On paper it looks like madness, but in reality I’m thrilled with the results. We had the idea to create beautiful soundscapes with textures of orchestra, acoustic instruments, voice and choirs to take the listener to somewhere quite magical… a different shore!

The album will be released on 28th October,  but you can get Without A Song right now on iTunes, Spotify, and all other usual outlets.

PS apologies if the video autoplays for you - I hate that too. It'll be sorted just as soon as I can work out how to turn off autoplay in iframe.

Outdoors Pointless Celebrities, 15th October

Outdoors Pointless Celebrities is on Saturday 15th October at 5.40pm.

Taking part are Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games, Tom Heap and Jules Hudson, Miranda Krestovnikoff and Paul Heiney, and Naomi Wilkinson and Bill Oddie.

At least two of these have been on before that I can remember (Bill and Miranda), and were very good value. Should be a good show.

Alexander Armstrong on Jools Holland's Radio 2 show

Xander was the guest on Jools Holland's show on 3rd October.

Xander chatted about his musical background and influences, and about the inspiration behind his new album Upon A Different Shore. He performed The Parting Glass (Armstrong's Goodnight) live with Jools' Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, and there were premiere plays of two tracks from the album, Scarborough Fair / Canticle and Golden Brown.

The programme is available for the next 29 days. Xander is on from 34.14.

A Midsomerly Murders Night’s Dream is out on Friday

The first part of A Midsomerly Murders Night's Dream, Classic FM's main event for this year's Make Some Noise Day, will be released on Friday 4th October.

Make Some Noise is the charity of Global, the parent company of Classic FM. It supports small projects working with disadvantaged children and young people across the UK. Events go on all year round, but this year's main Make Some Noise Day is October 4th: Classic FM's chief contribution is a murder mystery radio play involving all their presenters.

A Midsomerly Murd’rous, the only village in the county of Midsomerly never to have been scandalised by murder, is abuzz with the big event being organised by Phil Hall (played by Alexander Armstrong) for the former Lord Theo Rhys (played by Alan Titchmarsh) for his marriage to his love Polly (played by Charlotte Green).

The story unfolds surrounding the suspicious death of Punk, the pantomime horse. Several people are in the frame including Mr Trunchbull, the estate agent (played by Bill Turnbull), Eggerton, the new lord of the Manor (Aled Jones) even Cotswold Manchebo, or the cheese shop owner (played by Alex James).

Detective Inspector Baxter Carter (John Suchet) and his sidekick Sergeant Brock Fugue (Nicholas Owen) traipse this formerly sleepy village from house to house in their quest to discover the truth, with the help of the new coroner….

A Midsomerly Murders Night's Dream will be issued in two instalments.  You can register to be alerted when it is released. Instalments cost £5 each for Make Some Noise.