Russell Howard has been forced to deny that he has accepted an invitation to perform at an upcoming benefit gig for the Church of Scientology.

Russell Howard forced to deny Scientology benefit gig rumours

The comedian was rumoured to be performing for the controversial church for eye-watering ticket prices of up to £1,000

Jack Whitehall and Gemma Chan attend the British Comedy Awards

British Comedy Awards 2013 winners: List in full

Jack Whitehall was crowned King of Comedy at the ceremony in London

Jack Whitehall and Gemma Chan attend the British Comedy Awards

Jack Whitehall crowned king of British Comedy Awards

'Fresh Meat' star sees off stiff competition from Alan Carr, David Mitchell, Graham Norton, Lee Mack and Sarah Millican to win top prize

Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, centre, are up for Best Female TV Comic for their presenting quips on The Great British Bake Off

British Comedy Awards 2013: List of nominees in full

Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc are shortlisted for Best Female TV Comic

Comedian Dave Griffiths, the self-styled ‘King Cnut’

Comedian gets the last laugh over FCUK logo row

What started as a T-shirt parody turned into a far-reaching, £3.5m corporate fight over copyright

Flying again: Monty Python

Monty Python announce five more dates to 2014 reunion

The shows were added after tickets for the first concerts sold out in 55 minutes

Clockwise from left: Sarah Millican; Lee Mack; Alan Carr; David Mitchell; Graham Norton and Jack Whitehall are up for the King or Queen of Comedy Award 2013

British Comedy Awards 2013: Jack Whitehall, Alan Carr and David Mitchell shortlisted

Who should be crowned the King or Queen of British comedy?

The five remaining members of Monty Python are expected to announce a comeback on Thursday

Monty Python reunion tickets sell out in 43 seconds as group announce four new shows

The group have announced four more shows following their sell-out gig

The five remaining members of Monty Python

Monty Python reunion: Dead parrot lives – but artificial hips put paid to silly walks

Ageing comics promise new material for O2 show - and did not rule out the possibility of future performances

The five remaining members of Monty Python are expected to announce a comeback on Thursday

Monty Python reunion: Surviving members to reform for a stage show

The hit 1970s group are expected to formally announce the reunion on Thursday

Eddie Izzard performs at the 'Go Local' festival at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, July 2013

Eddie Izzard: 'If I'm made Mayor of London I won't give up comedy'

The comedian said his stand-up career will go into 'hibernation'

Andy Kaufman officially died in 1984 but his brother insists he's alive

Andy Kaufman is 'alive' claims his brother

His brother said he had received a letter from the comedian in 1999

Comedian Russell Brand is determined to spark a

Russell Brand calls David Cameron a 'filthy, dirty, posh w***er'

The comedian lashed out at the prime minster on Alan Carr's chat show

Jane Bussmann says girls are raised to be nice, not humorous

Women care too much to be funny, says Smack the Pony writer Jane Bussmann

In a writers’ room, you need  clanking great balls just to speak up, says the South Park and Smack The Pony writer

Russell Brand offers one-on-one Skype calls to fans with new iPhone app

Fans of the comedian will play 'interactive challenges' for rewards

Arts & Entertainment
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On her daughter's insistence, Michelle Nijhuis turned Bilbo Baggins into a girl. She soon realised that a sex change was a great way to combat stereotypes in all sorts of stories

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Picasso's 'Man with Opera Hat' is being auctioned online for €100 in association with Sotheby's
art

Picasso masterpiece valued at €1m sold for £84 in charity raffle

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Pieces of information: the complexities of chess work surprisingly well on radio
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Jon Speelman celebrates the revival of broadcasting chess games on the radio

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Review: Anchor Man 2 is infantile in the extreme - and therein lies its strange appeal

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Piece of cake: Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood in 'The Great British Bake-Off Christmas Special'

televisionThe Bake-Off turns into a bit of a bunfight, but Hollywood shows his star quality

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photographyTaxidermied animals get reawakened in new exhibition

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television

The Friends actor has a new role as a campaigner on addiction issues

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The Villa, Rotterdam

architectureThe design collective which has stuck two fingers up at the modernists will call it quits at Venice

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Rowan Atkinson in his Comic Relief sketch as the Archbishop of Canterbury
television

The sticklers had a lot to say about Rowan Atkinson's Comic Relief sketch this year

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Beyonce has guerrilla released an entire new album on iTunes

music

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Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen) posts her vote

tvGreat Dane bows out in a refreshingly unsentimental and brisk fashion

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artThe latest edition of the show where Hirst and Hockney started out

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Girls on top: Playwright Ella Hickson (in orange) with Charlotte Mills, a ‘badass’ Tink, and Fiona Button (seated, far left) an assertive Wendy, backstage
theatre
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'Pussy riot butterfly' (Nadya, Masha & Katya), acrylic and collage on handmade paper, 2013

art

The portrait painter will unveil her first show for eight years

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Matt Smith stars in 'American Psycho' at the Almeida

theatre

Review: Matt Smith regenerates as ripped uber-narcissist
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Jack Whitehall and Gemma Chan attend the British Comedy Awards

comedy'Fresh Meat' star sees off stiff competition to win top prize

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Adam Handling, Scott Davies and Steven Edwards will compete in tonight's final of Masterchef: The Professionals

tvSpoiler alert: Find out the result of a heated final show

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Kanye West found himself at the centre of a critical storm over the weekend after he apparently claimed to be “the next Mandela” during a radio interview

musicPolice chief rejects rapper's claims that his work is as dangerous as law enforcement or military service

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High spirits: comedian Pippa Evans, co-founder of the Sunday Assembly
comedyWhat does Miley Cyrus have at Christmas? Twerky
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Universal specifics: Hadas Yaron in 'Fill the Void'
film reviewDelicate insider portrait of an Hassidic community
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Boy band One Direction have their Twittersphere in the palm of their hands
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Three of the five most retweeted messages of 2013 written by One Direction

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Carol singer: Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’, from 1994, is one of the last huge Christmas hits

musicGillian Orr wonders why there hasn't been a decent festive hit for nearly 20 years

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Peter Sellers, as President Merkin Muffley in Dr Stragelove, using the mythical red phone
film
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Naughty Boy's 'La La La' has topped YouTube's most popular music videos in the UK list for 2013
musicYouTube releases its annual list
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After a 10 month search, Nick Lord has been declared the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year

arts + ents... and a chance to paint Booker Prize winning author Hilary Mantel

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Branching out: Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper
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She's been Don Draper's daughter – now she wants a new test

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Ben Whishaw has been confirmed to play Freddie Mercury in a biopic about the Queen frontman
film

Ben Whishaw to replace Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury in Queen biopic

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Hair time: Colin Wilson breaks another literary rule: don't pose for silly pictures
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A cautionary tale for ambitious would-be authors/p>

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Emma Stone, 24, might not have the right look to play Hillary Clinton and is usually more at home in comedies. But she did play a lawyer in Crazy, Stupid, Love, so you never know.
film

The actress reveals why she never reads about herself online

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