THE current state of laughter on the box is a gift to headline writers. The line, TV comedy is no laughing matter, may be obvious but it's all too obviously true. Sit-coms have been in the doldrums for ages.

ITV tried, and conspicuously failed, to improve its poor comedy record and now seems to have given up entirely. Commercial TV tends to axe a show if it fails to make the grade after one series. The BBC has a reputation for fostering new comedies, knowing that, given time, both quality and ratings can improve.

This hardly excuses the current Monday BBC2 Comedy Night, a label that surely contravenes the Trades Description Act as there is little to laugh about. The Kumars At Number 42, the best of a bad bunch, is an Asian Mrs Merton spoof chat show. Dr Terrible's House Of Horrible, takes the mickey out of Hammer horrors that were ridiculous to start with. And few have any charitable words to say about the unspeakable Mr Charity.

The fact that BBC2 schedules are stuffed with re-runs of classic comedy shows such as The Likely Lads, Dad's Army and The Good Life merely highlights the poor state of new comedy.

But, BBC1 Controller Lorraine Heggessey will tell you, that's all changing. My Family, a comedy about a dentist (a contradiction in terms, I know) with Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker, is the first new mainstream major comedy hit for ages. BBC bosses must be wondering why, despite attracting 11 million viewers a week, the series has failed to gain any nominations in the upcoming British Comedy Awards 2001. "BBC1 invests more in original comedy than any other channel," was Heggessey's proud boast at the launch of the £174m winter season on Wednesday. The New Year will see the channel breaking new boundaries "by becoming the first mainstream television channel to produce a comedy with a disabled character at the centre".

Will viewers find All About Me funny or in poor taste? Brummie funny man Jasper Carrott and Meera Syal, from Goodness Gracious Me, star as a recently married, mixed race couple raising their families under one roof. Her son Raj, who has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair, is the central character. He can't physically talk but his observations on family life are heard in voiceover (accompanied by the inevitable and intrusive laughter track).

Heggessey also seemed pleased to welcome former Big Breakfast presenter Johnny Vaughan to BBC1 (albeit in a co-production with cable and satellite channel BBC Choice). Perhaps he's been evicted by BBC2 after reaction to his debut comedy 'Orrible which, most agreed, lived up (down?) to its title. He'll be offering his observations on the day's news, live on BBC Choice with a late-night repeat on BBC1. Whether either programme make enough of a mark to merit a place in next year's British Comedy Awards remains to be seen and heard.

This time Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross, already going head-to-head with shows on Friday nights on C4 and BBC1, are both up for best comedy entertainment personality. Add fellow talk show host Frank Skinner (not a patch on either of them - he's far too interested in being funny himself) and the category gets really interesting.

ITV's Cold Feet co-stars James Nesbit and John Thomson are pitted against each other for best TV comedy actor with Rob Brydon, from BBC2's Human Remains, completing the nominations. Jessica Stevenson leads the best TV comedy actresses by sheer numbers, nominated for C4's Spaced, ITV's Bob And Rose, and BBC1's The Royle Family. What a busy person she is.

Cold Feet's Hermione Norris and Lesley Sharpe from Bob And Rose are in with a chance too. Other categories include Human Remains, The Office and The Sketch Show for best new TV comedy; Coupling, The Office and One Foot In The Grave for best TV comedy; and Bob And Rose, Cold Feet and Happiness for that strange hybrid - best TV comedy drama.

Have I Got News For You, So Graham Norton and The Frank Skinner Show fight it out for best comedy entertainment programme.

Next year's list could include a new sitcom written by someone from the North-East, thanks to the BBC's Northern Exposure scheme. Auntie is investing £30,000 in Newcastle's Live Theatre over the next two years to develop new writing in the region. One aspect of the scheme is a competition called Falling About - as in falling about laughing.

Writers, and would-be writers, are being asked to submit a half-hour comedy for theatre, TV or radio. The brief is that it should be refreshing, original and make everyone fall about. First prize is £1,000 and the BBC's Head of Comedy will find the script in his/her in-tray for consideration. Five runners-up will collect £200. All six winning entries will be given a public reading at Live Theatre on the Quayside. Judging the competition are Newcastle-born Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall, who's worked closely with Live in the past, and The Vicar of Dibley writer Paul Mayhew Archer.

"We're looking for new, original half-hour ideas. It's completely up to you what they do," says Kate Rowlands, the BBC's Creative Director of New Writing, who worked with Hall on several of his radio plays. "It's a good opportunity for people to try their hand as the competition is open to everybody."

Northern Exposure gives writers the chance to attend master classes and writers' groups. There's also a script-reading service, offering objective criticism of submitted work. "The reason the BBC is doing this is because it wants to promote more programme content from the North-East, and make more programmes in the area," says Rowlands. "We hope ideas developed for the stage could become suitable for television or radio. There's an enormous amount of crossover with things going from theatre to radio or from radio to TV or to film. It's happening much more than it ever did. The BBC is always looking for writers. It's not a cynical exercise. The BBC is constantly looking to revitalise talent."

*The British Comedy Awards are being shown live on ITV on Saturday December 15 at 9pm. All About Me and The Johnny Vaughan Show begin next year. Details about Falling About from Room 222, Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London W1A 1AA or www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom

Published: 08/12/01