Comic Relief Does The Apprentice (From Bucks Free Press)

Comic Relief Does The Apprentice

12:45pm Monday 16th March 2009

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COMIC Relief, while undeniably a worthy cause, is always a bit of a mixed bag when you get to the actual comedy side of it.

It feels a bit mean-spirited to criticise what is clearly an event trying to do a lot of good in the world, but, like most telethons, the scattershot approach makes it a bit of a slog to watch sometimes.

It's hard to pull off – after all no one wants to deliver too much edgy comedy for a charity show, so inevitably the humour stays pretty broad.

But a few risks can pay off spectacularly. My favourite Comic Relief moment of recent years is easily Ricky Gervais' mock charity appeal in 2007.

The comedian was, apparently, in Africa speaking to a heartbroken bereaved man, wiping tears from his eyes and struggling to speak.

Of course when a cheerful Stephen Merchant bounded up, the whole thing was revealed to be a sham, because Ricky didn't fancy a trip to Africa. The same sketch saw Jamie Oliver turn up to pass round Turkey Twizzlers and Bob Geldof's appearance compared to that of a “homeless smackhead”.

This year the sketches on the night weren't quite so sharp. The best TV moments came from The Apprentice (sorry Kilimanjaro climbers).

The celebrities this year included Jonathan Ross, Ruby Wax, Jack Dee and Carol Vorderman and most of them threw far fewer strops than the regular contestants.

But bizarrely, in all the talking head shots at the start of the show the would-be entrepreneurs tried to sound every bit like the cut-throat monsters that populate the normal show.

Even Gok Wan made some fairly unlikely promises about being the most competitive person ever to grace a British TV screen. He wasn't, of course, although he seemed set for a nervous breakdown at one point.

There were some genuinely funny moments as the two teams – girls and boys – tried to create a new toy for today's market.

Surprisingly a slightly bemused Gerald Ratner provided some of the most unexpectedly funny moments. First he nostalgically looked back at the days of lead toy soldiers, glossing over their slightly dangerous levels of toxicity.

Ratner also effectively killed the boys team's closing presentation with a blunt comment that the product – collectable figures snapping onto a belt - would either sell well or sink without trace. Of course, he didn't put it quite so politely.

Patsy Palmer reverted into full-blown Bianca mode at one point, going ballistic after her team captain, Michelle Mone, had the gall to ask her to do something. She was the one who perhaps most embraced the spirit of the show.

But, aside from her, both teams attacked the task with all the vigour of demented schoolchildren, never forgetting they were in it to provide laughs, rather than business acumen.

Jonathan Ross, surprisingly, avoided the chop entirely, despite his idea being the one that sunk it for the boys' team. He gamely battled with Sir Alan, though, and you had the feeling he was actually setting himself up as prime candidate for a sacking, perhaps so all those angry Daily Mail readers could finally get some closure.

Ross was easily one of the stars of the show, recognising the fact it was about entertainment, pure and simple. It was perhaps best summed up by the moment when he tried to distract an exasperated Jack Dee from writing an all-important presentation, by jumping up and down on a sofa and saying “look at me, look at me.” Childish, maybe, but that's the whole point isn't it?

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