It is the culmination of an international Quest for comedy.

Richard has travelled to New York, Paris and London, talking with comedians, writers and comedy fans, getting inside their heads and seeking an answer to the question: "What is funny?"

On the road he has rubbed funny bones with some of the brightest sparks in the comic world.

Ricky Gervais burst onto the scene with the hilarious British spoof documentary "The Office", which has now been reworked for U.S. audiences. He is currently working on a follow-up about actors, entitled "Extras."

Gervais confessed to Richard he felt guilty that success had come without years of hard work on the comedy circuit performing stand-up in smoky bar rooms for a fistful of dollars.

"I think you can probably get away with bad material if you've got charisma and a great delivery" he advises our aspiring comedian.

Outside the Comedy Central studios in Manhattan, a line of people queues for the hottest ticket in town.

"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" serves up a nightly menu of biting political satire in which newmakers and news reporters are the main course. To Stewart, people like Richard are funny, simply by being themselves.

"My job is to watch the news and make jokes about it, we're like an editorial cartoon. The news doesn't need me to be better, the news needs to be better so that my job is harder. Comedians don't have bunker busters. None of our jokes are uraniuim tipped. We're just goof balls."

Quest discovers how comedy can both reflect and shake society and politics in during visit to Paris to meet those behind the legendary French satire program, "Les Guignols de l'Info."

"Les Guignols" have satirized French politics and society for years and the 10-minute daily slot is one of the country's most popular shows.

Richard meets the team behind the irreverent puppets to discover what can be learned from a French comic institution.

In contrast to the script-writers, the producers and the expensive sets of TV shows like "Les Guignols," the stand-up comedian cuts a lonely figure, battling audiences alone -- as Richard is about to find out.

But with four days to go before his own performance, Richard is finding it increasingly hard to laugh.

You can follow Richard's comedy quest from classroom to comedy club as he battles to overcome fear of failure and comes face to face with a live audience -- instead of an autocue.