Tour news: Jimmy Carr, the Topp Twins

He was just here in 2014, but that - and some trouble over a certain joke about Oscar Pistorius - isn't stopping Jimmy Carr from making a repeat visit early next year.

The gameshow host and controversial comedian will perform at Wellington's St James on January 8, the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch on January 10, and Auckland's ASB Theatre on January 11.

He'll be touring as part of his Funny Business tour, which has the tagline: "Come for the witty and incisive musings on the human condition; stay for the knob gags."

Carr's comedy is wider-ranging than that. As he told TimeOut in 2013, he knows he's a comedian "people either love or hate".

"People have the right to be offended, but I also reserve the right of freedom of speech to make a joke about whatever I want," he said.

He may have rethought his stance, after several riffs on Oscar Pistorius fell flat at last year's Q Awards. He told The Mirror after the show: "I'm going to go home and write some new jokes."

Tickets for Carr's New Zealand shows go on sale on October 9, with a pre-sale from October 5.

Meanwhile, fresh from their recent smile-a-minute TV series Topp Country, and only a year since their extensive Grand Ole Topp'ry tour, the Topp Twins have announced a four-date national tour this November.

The timeless humour of Camp Mother and Camp Leader, the Bowling Ladies, and the Kens will be on display, along with their infamous yodelling talents, and favourite musical numbers, as Linda and Jules Topp take to theatres across New Zealand.

They start at the Baycourt Theatre in Tauranga on Friday November 6, the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch on November 8, the Bruce Mason Centre in Auckland on November 26, and the St James Theatre in Wellington on December 3.