This late-night ITV magazine show devoted to comedy premiered on Monday 28 June 1999 and was set in a fictional comedy club (The Comedy Café) fronted by faded northern comedian Charlie Cheese, the invention of character comedian and erstwhile star of The 11 O’Clock Show Mackenzie Crook.
Episodes aired on Monday nights until September before moving to Thursday nights.
The show featured sketches, celebrity interviews and top standups – plus a guide to comedy on TV, film and video – with guests including Iain Lee, Simon Pegg, Noel Fielding, Ricky Gervais, Omid Djalili, Lee Mack, Sean Lock, Ed Byrne, Lucy Alexander, Marcus Brigstocke, Keith Chegwin, Dave Gorman and Kathy Lette.
Mackenzie Crook later appeared in the smash hit comedy series The Office and featured in the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean films, eventually writing, directing and starring in the BAFTA-award-winning comedy series, Detectorists (2014)
Episodes aired on Monday nights until September before moving to Thursday nights.
