Bob Mortimer Returns to Defend Crown in Last One Laughing Season 2
At 66, Bob Mortimer sits arranging sachets of sugar for his tea and reflecting on a career with few truly dire nights on stage. He will return to defend the title in last one laughing season 2, re-entering the locked-room contest where comedians try not to laugh. The show’s new lineup and scheduled launch dates set the stage for another tense competition.
Bob Mortimer in Last One Laughing Season 2
Mortimer has said he never experienced the classic “worst gig” war story many comics tell, and he even counts the number of sugar sachets he uses each cup — a recent cutback from 16. That steady, observational presence carried him through the first series and into a return where he will again face peers such as Romesh Ranganathan and David Mitchell. He has described the experience of performing to fellow comedians as “frightening, ” noting the added pressure when the audience is made up of your peers.
Last year Mortimer won after a final duel with Richard Ayoade, and he has said that despite prior experience the second outing felt different. He named Alan Carr, Romesh Ranganathan and David Mitchell as early targets in the original contest, and he has spoken about the odd intimacy that forms during the show’s intense hours, calling it a joy to see younger comics at work.
19th March and 26th March release schedule and the series format
The new run will roll out in stages: the first three episodes will launch on 19th March, with episodes four and five following on 26th March and the final episode on 2nd April. The format stays simple and relentless: laugh and you’re out. Over the course of each day, comedians use every tool of their craft, plus cameos and surprises, to try to break their rivals without cracking themselves.
Producers behind the series include Banijay UK labels Zeppotron and Initial, and the first series received recognition at industry awards, winning Best Entertainment Programme at the 2026 Broadcast Awards and Best Entertainment Series at the Edinburgh TV Festival in 2025. The schedule and the return of the format aim to test whether that earlier acclaim translates into fresh momentum for this installment.
Jimmy Carr, the cast and what returning means for the competitors
Jimmy Carr returns in the host role that sets the rules for the contest, and the cast this time includes David Mitchell, Diane Morgan, Romesh Ranganathan, Amy Gledhill, Maisie Adam, Mel Giedroyc, Alan Carr, Gbemisola Ikumelo and Sam Campbell alongside Bob Mortimer. Roisin Conaty appears in a deputy role for the host, expanding the show’s arsenal of provocations and cameos designed to force smiles.
For Mortimer, who described the earlier series as an opportunity to get close to other comedians during a concentrated six-hour shoot, the competition offers a different set of challenges now that fellow comics like Richard Ayoade and others have proven their own strengths. He has observed shifts in what audiences find “funny, ” contrasting his Tommy Cooper and Spike Milligan–rooted references with comedy that now often rewards layered cleverness.
Still, Mortimer has said he believes slapstick and silliness have a way of returning, and he has praised the younger performers he met during the original production for their craft and energy.
Back at the table with his tea and those neatly arranged sachets, Mortimer prepares to enter the same room where silence matters as much as the jokes. The next confirmed milestone is the staggered launch beginning on 19th March 2026 (ET), when the opening episodes will reveal whether the defending champion can once more keep a straight face long enough to have the last laugh.
