If you've ever wondered what it's like to attend a live recording of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, the antidote to panel games, now is your chance to discover how much fun they are, as the BBC releases a second double CD compilation of some of the show's full recordings...

To be honest I don't wonder "what it's like to attend a live recording of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue". Not because I don't enjoy the series, but because I actually went to a double recording some years ago. In fact I have to say that of all the radio shows I've seen being recorded I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue was easily the most memorable. While the 30 minute radio show is extremely funny, the live recordings are at least twice as enjoyable.

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue Live 2, like the first volume, contains another four extended editions of the programme, from 1995 and 1996. Hear Humphrey Lyttelton and the team setting up before and after a recording and hear the jokes intended only for the theatre audiences.

However, I'm not entirely sure whether this compilation does what it claims to do on the packet. There's very little material from before or after each recording - which is a crying shame. What you do get though is a lot of material that would have otherwise been left on the cutting room floor to ensure that the shows fitted the 30 minute time slot.

Highlight of this collection include:

Episode one: a brand new game, 'Name That Barcode', in which Humph describes a barcode "Thick white, thin black, thin black..." etc to which the teams have to guess what the product is; and the 'Knights of the Round Table' game (sent in by a listener apparently).

Episode two: a look at radio shows of 2010, which include 'Beadle's Still Bloody About'; 'Hitler's Diary' a game inspired by the Sunday Times attempt to pass of the fake Hitler's Diaries as legitimate; the incomprehensible and shot lived 'Numbers' game; and, thankfully, a top round of 'Mornington Crescent.'

Episode three: Humph protesting that he did not say "flatulent lovers" (he did as it happens).

Episode four: Humph's Locket getting in the way of his introduction; poor old Graeme Garden's attempts to sing Nellie the Elephant in 'Pick up Song' are all for nothing as the record sticks; and Humph's inability to foresee that he'd have problems starting the round 'Psychics'

The show's producer, Jon Naismith, introduces each programme and reminds us of a few topical issues from the time of the recordings, which allow us to appreciate some of the jokes.

Whether you are a die-hard fan of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, or have never heard the show before, this is a must own collection. Proof that old comics were (and indeed still are) much funnier than the majority of acts around today.

10

Darren Rea