ALONGSIDE TV shows like Have I Got News For You and Room 101, Paul Merton has a fine pedigree in improvised comedy.

He never fails to hold his own in Radio Four’s Just A Minute and was a stalwart of Whose Line Is It Anyway?

And he has gathered together an impressive set of ‘chums’ to spark off during this tour.

Lee Simpson, Suki Webster and Richard Vranch were joined in Cardiff by Steve Steen, thanks to Mike McShane’s flight delay due to the Icelandic volcano.

Every night is, by its nature and the varying suggestions of audiences, a totally different show. And we were treated to a glimpse into the chums’ surreal world – a penguin rave, plastic-coated cucumbers being fired at elephants, the new Olympic sport of mouse-curling, and Mortuary, The Musical.

Steen’s Mick Jagger alongside Vranch’s ‘Keef’ Richard for a Beatles v Stones face-off was simply side-splitting.

Merton and his pals were wonderfully silly. We laughed so much our faces ached. Comedy shows can’t get a better recommendation than that.