Comedian Josh Widdicombe has turned elevated peevishness into an art form. He’s never quite furious about anything, but he seemingly can’t let the least irritation pass without comment – and his permanently petty, beautifully crafted observations have served him well over a successful comedy career, from his stand-up specials And Another Thing… and What Do I Do Now… to his sitcom Josh, and from his stint as a co-presenter on The Last Leg to his many appearances on panel shows and his wildly popular podcast Parenting Hell.

And now you can watch Widdicombe’s most recent stand-up show Bit Much… at 9.30pm on Wednesday 31 July on Sky Comedy HD (CH 112), also available on demand after broadcast. Whether it’s advent calendars, weddings, pesto or the closing time of his local park, the Devonian comic finds something to complain about – hilariously – in this post-Covid show that was filmed at the legendary London Palladium.

The beauty of observational comedy about everyday life is that there’s something for everyone, and with this special, Widdicombe seals his position as one of the most appealing and reliably funny comics working today. And once you’ve enjoyed Bit Much…, there’s plenty more comedy where that came from.

You’ll never be short of top-class stand-up on Virgin TV, with plenty of riotous specials available to stream whenever you need a laugh. We’ve picked out some of our favourites.

Stewart Lee: Basic Lee

Find it in Sky Comedy on demand

Lee has spent his career pulling apart the mechanics of stand-up comedy while always delivering plenty of laughs. In this brand new show, recorded at the Lowry in Salford, he outdoes himself by attempting to define by example just what stand-up comedy is, and concludes that what he does isn’t it.

Fern Brady: Autistic Bikini Queen

Find it in Apps > Netflix

Brady takes a meandering journey through her past, covering work, relationships, religion and neurodivergence, in a show that’s as revelatory as it is witty. Fans of her award-winning memoir Strong Female Character will find plenty to enjoy in this special filmed in Bristol.

Trevor Noah: Where Was I

Find it in Apps > Netflix

The former Daily Show host has been off travelling the world and he’s back in the US to tell a Detroit audience all about it, from derailing a German sightseeing tour to getting roasted in Paris, in this Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated special.

Mae Martin: SAP

Find it in Apps > Netflix

Taskmaster champion, creator and star of the excellent TV series Feel Good, Martin takes to the stand-up stage and nails that too. These stories of growing up unconventional in suburban Canada alternate between sad, uplifting and raucously funny, and somehow there’s a mythical moose involved too.

Ali Wong: Don Wong

Find it in Apps > Netflix

The star of the award-winning Beef was heavily pregnant when she recorded her previous Netflix special, Baby Cobra, and this follow-up deals with the challenges of monogamy in a relationship and the sordid fantasies that help you deal. Wong is now divorced. Make of that what you will.

Jon Richardson: The Knitwit

Find it in Apps > Channel 4

Where Josh Widdicombe is peevish, Richardson is downright neurotic, and his specials (Funny Magnet, Nidiot) and TV shows have explored his foibles in highly amusing detail. If anything, they’re multiplying as he gets older – but the comic himself is always the butt of the joke.

Mo Gilligan: There’s Mo To Life

Find it in Apps > Netflix

Gilligan is almost as familiar a TV face as Josh Widdicombe but his ubiquity hasn’t blunted his stand-up skills, as this special filmed at the Hackney Empire shows. With tales from both his younger days working in retail and his attempts to break into the comedy industry, the south Londoner has a sharp wit and an everyman touch.

Susie McCabe: Femme Fatality

Find it in Apps > BBC iPlayer

McCabe tells a packed King’s Theatre in Glasgow about growing up gay in the days long before Pride parades, working on building sites, modern gender roles and what she cheerfully refers to as “the failure of me”.

Tom Allen: Completely

Find it in Apps > ITVX

He’s finally moved out of his parents’ house and it’s a whole new world for the spiffily dressed comic. From vegetable patches and department stores to the niceties of entertaining friends with children, the acerbic Allen is learning fast.

Leo Reich: Literally Who Cares?!

Find it in Sky Comedy on demand

Gen Z comic Reich asks such searching questions as “Am I hot?”, “Is this helping?” and “No offence guys but literally what is going on?” in this special filmed in east London. Expect songs, anecdotes and bewildering non sequiturs as Reich takes pains to raise social awareness about… something.

Jenny Slate: Seasoned Professional

Find it in Apps > Prime Video

Stand-up shows about becoming a parent are common these days – but Slate takes the birth of her daughter as a jumping-off point for a wildly eclectic special that covers working as an actor, therapy, sex and awkward toilet encounters, enhanced by Slate’s idiosyncratic delivery.

Dara Ó Briain: So Where Were We?

Find it in Apps > BBC iPlayer

Ó Briain is known for rapid-fire delivery, a love of science and a tendency to turn audience chat into esoteric whimsy. While this show, filmed in Dublin, has plenty of that, it also contains some of the comic’s most introspective routines to date as he riffs on his unusual childhood.

Watched all those? Why not try these…

In Sky Comedy on demand

• Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel
• Nish Kumar: Your Power, Your Control
• Alan Carr: Regional Trinket
• Rob Beckett: Wallop
• Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die

In Apps > Netflix

• Kevin Bridges: The Overdue Catch-up
• Taylor Tomlinson: Have It All
• Romesh Ranganathan: The Cynic
• James Acaster: Repertoire
• Katherine Ryan: In Trouble
• Bo Burnham: Inside
• Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang
• Simon Amstell: Set Free
• Hannah Gadsby: Something Special

In Apps > BBC iPlayer

• Jason Manford: Recent Nostalgia
• Dawn French: Dawn French Is A Huge Tw*t
• Paul Black: Nostalgia
• Stand Up For Live Comedy

In Apps > ITVX

• Milton Jones: Milton Impossible
• Paul Sinha: Shout Out To My Ex
• Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Hysterical Woman
• Angela Barnes: Hot Mess
• Tommy Tiernan: Under The Influence

In Apps > Prime Video

• Chris Ramsey: Approval Needed
• Helen Hong: Well Hong
• Maria Bamford: Local Act
• Rhys Darby: Mystic Time Bird

Not sure how to find any of these streaming services? Follow our handy guides…

How to watch ITVX on Virgin TV

How to watch the Channel 4 app on Virgin TV

How to watch Netflix on Virgin TV

How to watch Prime Video on Virgin TV