Dancing With The Stars brought Fred Cooke a whole new audience – kids just can’t get enough of the funnyman. On the eve of a new tour, he tells Esther McCarthy how the show transformed his career.

Will Waterford City and County Council really initiate enforcement proceedings against a wind farm in breach of planning laws?

Here's your lunchtime news bulletin.

The comedian will play his “favourite venue on the planter”, the Olympia Theatre.

We bring you a round up of all the latest news and reviews from the world of entertainment. 

Bill Bailey talks Darwin’s adventures and rubber bishops with Richard Fitzpatrick

MUSIC NEWS: Apple Music, the new streaming music service gets a boost today with the release of Dr Dre’s Compton: A Soundtrack exclusively on that facility and the almost traditional format, iTunes. 

Here’s a quick recap of all the weeks entertainment news.

Check out our spolier-free tips below.

ALAN DAVIES is the only permanent panellist on the BBC quiz show QI, a series that has possibly logged more comedy gold moments than any competitor since hitting television screens in 2003. 

Popular comedian Micky Flanagan tells Ed Power why he made a detour from the stage to the outdoors

Conall ÓFatharta’s report, Irish Examiner Aug 25, on the very high infant deaths at Bessborough House in the 1940s is not merely stale news but also absurdly unbalanced as it omits crucial facts. The principal blame lay with the state regulators, not the nuns – and certainly not with religion or the Catholic Church.

DURING the recent public outpouring about a sexist (or sexy depending on your viewpoint) article on women’s rugby, Cork GAA star player Valerie Mulcahy refused to be drawn into the drama.

Bill Bailey is to present resurrected game show 'Name That Tune'.

Check out our spoiler-free guide to what’s good to watch on the box tonight.

New licensing restrictions on buskers in Camden have been declared lawful by the High Court.

Irish comedian Dylan Moran has signed a deal with ABC studios in the US to create, write, and star in the pilot episode of a planned new series.

Chart-topping metallers Black Sabbath crowned their comeback with a double win at a top rock awards event.

It didn't take long for the Daft Punk backlash to start - but hey, at least it’s funny…

SATURDAY

The Voice of Ireland semi-final and an eventful week on Fair City feature in our highlights for April 20-26

Comedian Frankie Boyle will have shows in Cork and Dublin next December.

CHRISTMAS EVE

'Outnumbered' actress Claire Skinner and Bill Bailey are to guest-star in the 'Doctor Who' Christmas special.

Amy Winehouse's father, Mitch, is aware of his daughter’s death is was on his way back from New York, a spokeman for the late singer has confirmed.

A romantic little film that doesn’t trouble the grey cells too much but still manages to be charmingly entertaining, though the lack of sustained wit precludes the description of it being a comedy.

Stephen Fry has dropped plans to film in Japan for a new BBC series following a furore caused by his panel show 'QI'.

BEFORE World War II motor races were held in Cork using a circuit from Victoria Cross to Ballincollig via Model Farm Road and returning via the Carrigrohane Straight.

Kelly Brook is to star in teen drama ‘Skins’.

CELEBRITIES were getting a sneak preview of this year’s Chelsea Flower Show yesterday as exhibitors unveiled displays with features ranging from giant lock gates to a section of wrought iron bridge and a swimming pool with submerged bar seats.

'Little Britain' star David Walliams was shortlisted today for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, which honours humorous books for children.

IN your editorial promoting the Lisbon Treaty (August 19) you state: “our current crisis has proved we cannot survive without the European Central Bank”.

MY father suffered all the horrors described by the Ryan Commission report on institutional child abuse.

Comedian Bill Bailey has been banned from driving for six months for speeding.

IN his column (January 30), Matt Cooper relies on jingoistic jibes to disguise his woeful knowledge of economics.

Tributes poured in for English Nobel prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter who died aged 78.

OWING to the endemic nature of TB in cattle, farmers are required in the public interest to endure annual herd tests together with random spot checks. Animals are immediately culled on the basis of suspicion alone, irrespective of past merit or service.

Bill Bailey is stepping down as a team captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks after 11 series on the TV quiz show.

OUR political elite seem dumbfounded at the no vote and offer patronising explanations.

WITH a gathering international economic crisis and an upcoming EU referendum, it is appropriate to examine the impact of Eurozone membership on the Irish economy.

Ordinary Boys frontman Samuel Preston has walked out of a recording of pop quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

RICKY GERVAIS has the ideal face for comedy, according to new research into what makes us laugh.

It was snubbed by the Golden Globes, the Baftas, and the Oscars – but film-goers have nominated the blockbuster King Kong for five film awards.

THE imminent farming crisis as a result of the nitrates directive is a far greater scandal than mere official mismanagement in Ireland.

Cult 70s hit Is This The Way To Amarillo? Is released today, threatening to carry the almost-forgotten singer Tony Christie to number one in the charts, and raising more money for Comic Relief in the UK.

Ireland is to become home to a second international comedy festival this autumn, it was announced today.