The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008 was the fourth show in the Secret Policeman's Balls

The Secret Policeman's Balls

The Secret Policeman's Balls is the collective name informally used to describe the long-running series of benefit shows staged in England to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International...

series of benefit shows for Amnesty International

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

.

In July 2008, Amnesty announced that it would present another show in its long-running series Like its immediate predecessor, The Secret Policeman's Ball 2006

The Secret Policeman's Ball (2006)

The Secret Policeman's Ball 2006 was the title of the show staged as a benefit for human rights organization Amnesty International at London's Royal Albert Hall in October 2006....

the show was a single-night live event at London's Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....

. It took place on Saturday 4 October 2008.

In common with other Amnesty benefit shows in recent years, the majority of the performers were British (or UK-based) and well-known primarily just in Great Britain. (There was one Canadian comedian Russell Peters

Russell Peters

Russell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.-Early life :...

 - who appeared via a pre-recorded video-tape.)

Performers who were listed to perform were: Frank Skinner

Frank Skinner

Frank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...

, Alan Carr

Alan Carr

Alan Carr is an English comedian and television personality. Born in Weymouth, he was raised in Northampton before moving to Manchester during his early 20's....

, Graham Norton

Graham Norton

Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton , is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist...

, Sean Lock

Sean Lock

Sean Lock is an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian. He won the British Comedy Award in 2000 in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award. He is also well known for his appearances on television and radio...

, Kristen Schaal

Kristen Schaal

Kristen Schaal is an American actress, writer and comedienne, best known for her role as Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as Louise in Bob's Burgers and as a contributor on The Daily Show.-Early life:...

, Fearne Cotton

Fearne Cotton

Fearne Cotton is an English television and radio presenter who is known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...

, Matt Berry

Matt Berry

Matthew Charles "Matt" Berry is an English actor, writer, comedian and musician. Berry is perhaps best known for his appearances in The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh; he also had his own series, Snuff Box...

, Katherine Parkinson

Katherine Parkinson

Laura Katherine Parkinson is an English actress and comedian who is known for playing the part of Jen Barber in the Channel 4 comedy series The IT Crowd...

, Mitchell and Webb

Mitchell and Webb

Mitchell and Webb are a British comedy double act, comprising David Mitchell and Robert Webb . They are best known for starring in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show....

, Jason Manford

Jason Manford

Jason John Manford is an English comedian, television presenter and actor.- Early life :Manford was born to an Irish family in Salford, Greater Manchester, a son of Sharon , who is a Catholic and Ian Manford. He grew up in poverty in a terraced house in Manchester...

, Shappi Khorsandi, Russell Howard

Russell Howard

Russell Joseph Howard is an English comedian best known for his TV show Russell Howard's Good News and his appearances on the topical panel TV show Mock The Week...

, Russell Peters

Russell Peters

Russell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.-Early life :...

 (via video-tape), Katy Brand

Katy Brand

Katy Brand is an English actress, comedian and writer known for her ITV2 series Katy Brand's Big Ass Show and for Comedy Lab Slap on Channel 4....

, Tim Minchin

Tim Minchin

Timothy David "Tim" Minchin is a British-Australian comedian, actor, and musician.Tim Minchin is best known for his musical comedy, which has featured in six CDs, three DVDs and a number of live comedy shows which he has performed internationally. He has also appeared on television in Australia,...

, Sarah Millican

Sarah Millican

Sarah Millican is an English stand-up comedian. Millican won the if.comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.-Career:...

, Kayvan Novak

Kayvan Novak

Kayvan Novak is an award-winning British Iranian television actor and voice artist.- Voice actor :Novak has provided voice work for three video games: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo...

, Meera Syal

Meera Syal

Meera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...

, Sean Williamson, Sharon Horgan

Sharon Horgan

Sharon Horgan is an Irish actress, writer and comedienne.Horgan was born in London and moved to Dublin at age seven. She grew up in Bellewstown, Co. Meath, Ireland. She went to school in the Sacred Heart Secondary School in Drogheda. Later she went on to an English degree at Brunel University...

, Nick Mohammed, Dan Clark, David Armand

David Armand

David Armand is an English comedian, actor and writer who has performed on stage, film, radio and most notably, television, where the shows he has appeared in include Fast and Loose , How Not To Live Your Life, Pulling, The Armstrong and Miller Show, Swinging, and Peep Show.He is one of the...

, Eddie Izzard

Eddie Izzard

Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...

, Ed Byrne

Ed Byrne

Ed Byrne is a Perrier Award-nominated, Irish stand-up comedian, voice over artist and actor. He has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on various television panel games...

, Deborah Meaden

Deborah Meaden

Deborah Meaden is a British business woman who ran a multi-million pound family holiday business, before completing a management buyout...

, Jon Culshaw

Jon Culshaw

Jonathan Peter Culshaw is an English impressionist and comedian. He was educated at St Bede's RC High School, Ormskirk and St John Rigby College, in Orrell, Wigan....

, Gok Wan

Gok Wan

Gok Wan is a British fashion consultant, author and television presenter of British Chinese heritage. He is known for his appearances on many television programmes , for providing fashion advice to celebrities and for contributing his views to fashion magazines published internationally.-Early...

, Michael Fenton Stevens

Michael Fenton Stevens

Michael Fenton Stevens , sometimes credited as Michael Fenton-Stevens, is a UK actor and comedian, a founder member of The Hee Bee Gee Bees and the voice behind the Spitting Image 1986 number 1 hit "The Chicken Song"...

, Keane, Razorlight

Razorlight

Razorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...

.

The 3-hour event was video-taped and a 95-minute television special adapted from the show was broadcast the following day (Sunday 5 October 2008) on Britain's Channel Four. There was also a "cinecast" in which the Royal Albert Hall event was shown live in 35 cinemas in major British cities. http://www.protectthehuman.com/articles/secretpolicemancinecasts It was also available live in 4 cinemas in Australia. http://www.greaterunion.com.au/movies/7048/Secret-Policeman's-Ball-08.htm The "cinecast" was available in cinemas in six of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories

Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

. The Cineplex cinema chain made the film available on 50 of its 1,317 screens. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Cineplex-Entertainment-TSX-CGX.UN-905459.html. Unfortunately for Canadian audiences, Amnesty and Cineplex did not make any public announcement in Canada about the Canadian "cinecast" until Wednesday October 1 2008 http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Cineplex-Entertainment-TSX-CGX.UN-905459.html - just three days before the screenings and thus not allowing sufficient time for the event to be effectively promoted in Canada.