Catherine Tate joins April Fools charity gig

Catherine Tate joins April Fools charity gig (Image credit: PA Archive/PA Photos)

Catherine Tate is the latest TV star revealed as becoming an April Fool to raise money for charity. The Doctor Who star and comedian has joined the line-up of charity comedy gig April Fools in aid of Mencap at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London on April 1, hosted by Jo Brand. Jo said: "I am really pleased to be involved in the show at The Apollo. I have worked both with adults and children with a learning disability and found the work delightful, so it's great to get a chance to contribute in a different way." The comedy will also feature performances from The Thick of It's Chris Addison, Al Murray, Harry Hill, Lee Mack, Sean Lock, Miranda Hart, Stewart Francis and Lucy Porter, with more names to be added. Tickets cost £40 and all proceeds go to charity Mencap to support people with a learning disability, their family and carers. Tickets are available now from www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.