Music Pointless Celebrities, 8th April

There's a new Music Pointless Celebrities on 8th April, at 6.50pm on BBC1.

The participants are Mick Foster and Tony Allen of Foster & Allen fame, Pauline Black and Harvey, Jonathan Ansell (formerly of G4) and Faryl Smith, and Lee Latchford-Evans (Steps) and Michelle Heaton (formerly of LibertyX).

I think there's a very strong possibility that one or more of these people will be performing at the end of the show. Could it be Foster & Allen? Only time will tell.

Dates and free tickets for Don't Ask Me Ask Britain

As previously announced, Alexander Armstrong will be presenting Britain's first live interactive gameshow Don't Ask Me, Ask Britain later this spring. Dates have now been announced and you can apply for free tickets to attend the shows at ITV's London Studios, near Waterloo Station in London.

The shows will take place on Tuesday evenings from 18th April to 23rd May. Free tickets - minimum age 18 - can be applied for here.

Don't Ask Me, Ask Britain

Alexander Armstrong will host a live, interactive gameshow for ITV, Don't Ask Me, Ask Britain. In the show, a celebrity panel will be given a set of questions and multiple choice answers. They have to try to guess which one was picked by the most viewers at home.

Xander said:

It’s going to be a unique broadcasting experience. We’re harnessing the voting public like never before to get instant referendums on the questions that really count: what is the sexiest regional accent, and what to do when you block the toilet at a dinner party – the big stuff.

Viewers wanting to vote over the course of the six-episode series will need to download a free app onto their smartphones. The series starts on Tuesday 18th April at 8pm. Full dates and ticket details are here.

Comic Relief 2017

Alexander Armstrong made a video for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2017, thanking British Airways' customers and staff for their fundraising efforts since 2010. It's one of a series shown over that evening's telethon with celebrities cut in with shots from classic movies.

To date, Comic Relief 2017 has raised £71,308,475 this year to support projects in the UK and Africa. BA, their customers and staff have raised over £14 million since 2010.

Alexander Armstrong's second appearance on Drunk History

Following Alexander Armstrong's appearance as Bomber Harris in the first episode of this series of Drunk History, he will appear again in episode six as King Alfred, at 10pm on 12th April on Comedy Central, acting out the inebriated narration of Adam Buxton alongside Blake Harrison.

Xander's appearance in episode 1 was very funny. I'm looking forward to episode 6.

Medical Pointless Celebrities, 1st April

Back to new editions of Pointless Celebrities at last, and on 1st April at 6.50pm we have a Medical special.

The contestants are Guy Henry and Rosie Marcel from Holby, Getting On's Vicki Pepperdine and Ricky Grover, CBBC's 'Dr Ranj' Singh and Good Morning Britain's 'Dr Hilary' Jones, and Charles Dale and Amanda Henderson from Casualty.

Comedy Pointless Celebrities, 25th March

There's another repeated Pointless Celebrities on 25th March at 6.10pm. This time it's a Comedians special.

The duos are Hal Cruttenden and Justin Moorhouse, Rhona Cameron and Sean Hughes, Jeremy Hardy and Francesca Martinez, and Robert Webb and Isy Suttie.

Good contestants. Several have been on before, with some doing well (Hal) and some notably less well (Rhona). But I'm sure Richard wouldn't refer to that. Would he?

LAST MINUTE CHANGE: Impressionists Pointless Celebrities, 11th March

In a late alteration to the published schedule, Pointless Celebrities on 11th Match at 6pm will now be a repeat of the Impressionists special.

Taking part are The Big Impression double-act Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona, Dead Ringers co-stars Jon Culshaw and Jan Ravens, Rory Bremner and his Coalition Report collaborator Matt Forde, and Britain's Got Talent comedy stars Francine Lewis and Danny Posthill.

Writers Pointless Celebrities, 18th March

There's a repeated Writers special of Pointless Celebrities on Saturday 18th March at 6pm.

The duos are John O'Farrell and Emma Kennedy, Kathy Lette and Kate Mosse, Benjamin Zephaniah and Roger McGough, and Terry Deary and Bryony Gordon.

The Sound of Music Live nominated for RTS Award

The Sound of Music Live, starring Kara Tointon, Julian Ovenden, Alexander Armstrong, and Katherine Kelly, has been nominated for a Royal Television Society Award, in the Live Event category. The other nominees are Stand Up To Cancer and the BBC's coverage of the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme.

The Awards Ceremony is on Tuesday 21st March. We wish The Sound of Music Live well.

Alexander Armstrong's Real Ripping Yarns

Alexander Armstrong's fascinating documentary, Real Ripping Yarns, is being repeated at 1.55am on Wednesday 8th March, on BBC4.

The programme explores the literature that inspired Michael Palin and Terry Jones's classic TV comedy Ripping Yarns, a loving parody of the Boys' Own books and magazines of their childhood. It features clips from Ripping Yarns, archive and interviews with experts, modern-day adventurers and Michael Palin and Terry Jones's own memories.

In this affectionate and entertaining film Xander celebrates a long-lost slice of Britishness. Definitely one to record, if you haven't seen it before.

Alexander Armstrong's episode of Drunk History

Alexander Armstrong's first episode of Drunk History will be shown on Wednesday 8th March at 10pm, on Comedy Central. He'll be acting in the story of the Dambusters, as told by an inebriated Joel Domnett. Hopefully it'll be on YouTube afterwards, for those without access to Comedy Central.

The Real Full Monty Lineup Revealed

The full lineup of celebrities who'll be stripping off for The Real Full Monty has been revealed. They are McFly drummer Harry Judd, TOWIE's Elliot Wright, ballet dancer Wayne Sleep, former Olympic swimmer Mark Foster, Matthew Wolfenden from Emmerdale, TV presenter Dom Littlewood, and Danny John Jules from Red Dwarf and Death In Paradise.

The group were photographed onstage for the first time today, along with host Alexander Armstrong and under the watchful eye of dance coach Ashley Banjo, at Shiregreen Working Men's Club in Sheffield - as featured in the original film.

The Real Full Monty will follow Xander and Ashley as they teach their subjects to expose their flesh to maximum effect. The group is learning how to strip before boldly doing the Full Monty, stripping completely nude in front of a 2000-strong audience, which will feature in an episode of Tonight At The London Palladium.

Xander said:

We are using this film to raise awareness of men's cancers (prostate and testicular), encouraging guys to check themselves and look out for their friends and act on symptoms if they have them. If caught early enough, prostate cancer is nearly 100 per cent curable, but if men are not aware of the problem or ignore symptoms, the story is not such a good one, as prostate cancer kills one man an hour.

I hope that by showing these men have the balls to strip off in front of thousands of people, it might encourage otherwise reluctant men to overcome their embarrassment and get themselves checked.

More on dates etc once I have them.

Music Pointless Celebrities, 11th March

Pointless Celebrities on 11th March, at 6pm, is a repeat of one of the Music specials.

Former Marillion lead singer Fish teams up with Scottish folk star Barbara Dickson, while Haircut 100's Nick Heyward joins forces with pop rocker Toyah Willcox. Heather Small, formerly the lead singer of M People, joins the Neasden Queen of Soul Mari Wilson, and Liberty X's Jessica Taylor partners her former bandmate Kelli Young.