Radio Review: 15 November

Having flagged up some good comedy on BBC Radio Scotland a couple of weeks ago, let us now turn and face Wales (which I can just about see from my bedroom window on a clear day), where Here Be Dragons has just begun on the old Welsh Home Service, showing considerable promise.

There was a nice bit about an English tourist claiming tenuous Welsh heritage in the most ludicrous gushing terms, while being bilked merrily by the locals. I was also particularly taken with a recurring sketch in which people think they’re about to be saved from a dangerous situation, only to discover that their rescuer is Daniel Day-Lewis preparing for a role, with no intention of helping them. Elis James, Nadia Kamil, Lloyd Langford and Cariad Lloyd are the principals, and I can see myself sticking with it for the full run if the standard is maintained.

Meanwhile, having heard what Russell Brand and Robert Webb think about politics, it fell to Radio 4’s PM to canvass the opinion of an elder statesman of comedy, Ken Dodd. Doddy declared that Brand’s assertion on the pointlessness of voting was ‘stupid’ and that we should all use our democratic right.

My respect for Doddy is immeasurable, but what if none of the options on the ballot paper appeal? The answer came from the previous item on the programme, in which a chap argued, eloquently, that there should be a ‘none of the above’ option on the ballot paper.

I agree with him completely. I’ve long fantasised about an election in which spoiled papers outnumber the actual votes, telling our elected offi cials very clearly that they’re all about as much use as a drum kit in a priest hole.

Wouldn’t it be something if that happened in 2015?

Here Be Dragons, BBC Radio Wales, Fridays, 6.30pm. PM, BBC Radio 4, weekdays, 5pm.

Louis on Twitter: @LFBarfe or email: wireless@cheeseford.net