My Funniest Year

Rufus Hound asks viewers to cast their minds back to a more innocent time, albeit one that's a mere ten years ago. In 2000, Keith Chegwin hosting a naked gameshow set in a jungle was considered family viewing, and some of us were still worried that our video recorders were going to be eaten alive by the Millennium Bug.

Jack chooses 2005 because for him it was a momentous year - the year he turned 17, left school, and lost his virginity in Antony Worrall Thompson's gastro pub. There was also Live 8, the hunting ban, the introduction of 24 hour drinking and the launch of YouTube. My Funniest Year is a comic journey rich in belly laughs from beginning to end as Jack gives his unique take on the events that shaped the year and his own life Jack also takes a pop at noteworthy TV shows of the year, including the launch of Come Dine With Me, and delves into the public reaction to the celebrity weddings of Prince Charles and Camilla, Peter Andre and Jordan, and Ken and Deirdre in Coronation Street.

Comic pub landlord Al Murray takes to the stage at the Hackney Empire to escort his audience through his Funniest Year, 1997. Clad in his characteristic blazer, shirt and tie, Al strides onto the stage clutching a pint of beer as he tells the raucous crowd why he's personally chosen 1997 as a trademark year. It was the year that his now ex-wife ran off with a Frenchman, the Spice Girls became the biggest pop phenomenon since the Beatles, and Tinky Winky from the Teletubbies was 'outed' as gay. Al's comedy extravaganza explores other unforgettable popular culture moments from the year - the detailed examination of Bill Clinton's manhood, the launch of Channel Five, and the popularity of alcopops.

Chris Addison takes a comic trip to 2001, a year where bumbling Bush became President, Major Ingram coughed his way to win a million pounds and Pop Idol introduced us to two villains - Simon Cowell and Darius.