‘What’s fun about the show, in a way, is the variety of people that come on’
The Dave panel show Hypothetical is back, writes Danielle de Wolfe
What would hypothetically be the prize that would bring out the competitive side of me?” ponders comedian Josh Widdicombe.
“I think it would probably be some really, really rubbish, niche memorabilia from something that happened in my childhood.”
As if a lightbulb had just turned on, the comedian abruptly stands up from his desk, wanders over to a nearby shelf and proudly grasps a blue cat sealed within a clear plastic bag.
“Harry Hill gave me this Stouffer,” he grins. “He had a thousand made and he struggled to sell them and he said he found it in the garage. Stuff like that genuinely means far more to me than anything that would be of actual worth. That’s probably worth about 10p.”
It’s precisely the kind of off-kilter subject matter that guest comedians can expect as they battle it out as part of returning Dave comedy panel show, Hypothetical.
Best known independently for their stand-up prowess, Widdicombe and James Acaster step forth to immerse viewers in a world filled with improvisation, absurdity and the who’s who of the comedy circuit.
“I think what’s fun about the show, in a way, is the variety of people that come on,” says co-presenter, Widdicombe, 37, of Hypothetical.
“You get our mates, which is always fun, and then you get the people you watched on TV when you were growing up and that’s always a thrill. “The most enjoyable thing is you know Tom Allen is going to be good or you know that Jo Brand is going to be good, but the most exciting thing is when you see someone who you’ve only seen do stand-up once do as well, if not better, than these people and that’s kind of thrilling to watch I think.”
The show’s changing dynamic
With Covid having a sizable impact across television production, the reintroduction of live audiences (albeit temporarily between lockdowns) came as both a positive and a negative for the performers.
“It had different impacts on the series because I think with a smaller audience, it allows the acts to relax a bit more, it made it more chatty and I think that’s always really good on an improvised show,” notes Widdicombe.
“Series one had been great but certain people had held back and watched it and were like ‘yeah, we’ll do it now’ and then we were getting some people we didn’t expect to say yes – people like Charlie Brooker or Richard Ayoade or Jonathan Ross,” says Acaster.
Dream comedy guests
Between their ventures into podcasting – Widdicombe’s Lockdown Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Acaster’s deep-dive into 2016 albums courtesy of Perfect Sounds – the duo are used to finding guests.
“You sort of get the impression that everyone’s kicking around a bit more,” says Widdicombe. “It’s difficult to come up with an excuse when someone says ‘could you do this?’ and you’re like ‘you literally know I have no option here’.
● Hypothetical returns to Dave on Wednesday