Al Murray to front Edinburgh Fringe series
Murray's Pub Landlord character has been a popular draw on the stand-up circuit for several years
Comedian Al Murray is to present a new Paramount Comedy channel series showcasing the best stand-up talent from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Murray will front the show, The Edinburgh and Beyond Comedy Tour, in character as the Pub Landlord, as part of a three-year deal between independent production company Avalon Television and Paramount Comedy.
Starting with this year's Edinburgh Festival, Avalon will make six one-hour shows each year as part of the deal.
The new Paramount Comedy TV show has been developed from Avalon's national stand-up theatre show, which is also branded The Edinburgh and Beyond Comedy Tour.
In the five years the stand-up tour has been running it has featured Fringe performers including Simon Day, Jenny Eclair, Lee Mack and Karen Taylor.
The broadcaster also commissioned a 90-minute Pub Landlord comedy special, filmed live during one of Murray's shows at London's Bloomsbury Theatre, for its Paramount Comedy 2 channel, which was transmitted earlier this month.
Murray's Pub Landlord character, which he uses to lampoon both boorish male drinking culture and those who would not be seen dead in a good old-fashioned boozer, has been a popular draw on the stand-up circuit for several years.
His previous TV projects have included Time Gentlemen Please, the Avalon-produced Sky One sitcom based on his Pub Landlord character.
As himself, Murray has also presented Discovery Channel second world war history documentary series Road to Berlin, and was a contestant on ITV1 reality show Hell's Kitchen.
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