Aisling Bea

Interview: Rarely Asked Questions - Aisling Bea

We asked Bea our twelve rarely asked questions.

I was slightly hopeful going into The Delivery Man primarily as director Victoria Pile created Green Wing whilst writers Robert Harley and James Henry also worked on the classic Channel 4 sitcom. Unfortunately, The Delivery Man has none of the surreal wit or classic characters of Green Wing and instead feels like it's been lifted from the 1970s. The central premise of The Delivery Man sees another Green Wing veteran in Darren Boyd play Matthew, a newly qualified midwife attempting to navigate his way through a female-dominated environment. I think I would've had more time for The Delivery Man if Matthew had proved his female colleagues wrong by proving himself to be a valuable member of the team and changing their expectations of him. But instead he was presented as a bumbling fool who was constantly lying to his patients, their families and the rest of the hospital staff whilst struggling with the simplest of tasks. Whilst watching The Delivery Man I kept wondering what would've happened if their was a sitcom about a bumbling woman entering a male-dominated environment and doing a really bad job. I personally think there would be a general outcry but nobody appeared to bat an eyelid when that was the central joke of the piece. A potential romance between Matthew and fellow midwife Lisa (Aisling Bea) already has little interest whilst the supporting characters all feel a little one-dimensional. This is a shame when the cast includes such heavyweights as Alex MacQueen and Fay Ripley, the latter of whom at least tried her best as well-meaning senior midwife Caitlin. The biggest problem though was that The Delivery Man didn't provoke a sufficient amount of laughter from yours truly. In fact the only real laugh I had was during a joke about Claire's Accessories whilst a scene involving a birthing pool also raised a brief titter. Ultimately I was disappointed with a programme that felt like it had been severely watered down by ITV who seem to favour the sort of broad humour which The Delivery Man had in droves.

Radio Times review

"I have had the same training as all the women," protests Darren Boyd's male midwife Matthew, a bloke in a very female-centred environment. In Green Wing writers Robert Harley and James Henry's old-fashioned comedy he has to cope with quite a lot of sexism, but doesn't help himself by being quite an irritant, which detracts a little from a sitcom packed with decent lines and excellent supporting stars (Fay Ripley and Aisling Bea among them).

There is also little sense of Matthew's back story - apart from the fact he used to be a policeman - although the signs are that we will be seeing a lot more of Paddy McGuinness as his even more annoying (and slightly unhinged) former colleague and flatmate.

Strong cast star in new comedy from Green Wing team

Fortitude's Darren Boyd takes on a very different role as he is joined by Fay Ripley, Paddy McGuinness and Aisling Bea for new sitcom.

Aisling Bea on Katherine Ryan and Sara Pascoe

The Irish comic shares memories of two pals and inspirations.

With a little liquid still left in that particular game show crossover sponge, here's another splash of word-wrangling whimsy from the Cats crew, with Jimmy Carr, Sean Lock and Jon Richardson joined by Reginald D. Hunter and British comedy award-winner Aisling Bea in search of those elusive eight-pointers. The lexicographical gold-panning is overseen, as ever, by Susie Dent, with assistance from Holly Walsh. As for which format to remix next, how about 8 Out of 10 Cats does The Crystal Maze?

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Aisling Bea, Jerry Sadowitz and the Slapstick Festival.

Radio Times review

"I'm quite surprised they've let me on as well," Frankie Boyle tells his audience before he insults the celebrity guests and makes tasteless jokes about Glasgow's view of Hepatitis B and Oscar Pistorius's future girlfriends. He counters this with "If you are offended by any jokes tonight, feel free to tweet your outrage on a mobile phone made by a 10-year-old in China." Boyle isn't to everyone's taste, but this crowd isn't affronted by anything.

Also on the bill are Aisling Bea (riffing on the joys of sitting down and doing nothing) and growly-voiced Simon Evans, whose witty Jack Dee-style take on life is delivered with the occasional smile. Or maybe grimace.

Radio Times review

Usually the QI panelists scrabble about improvising madly as they try to answer Stephen Fry's abstruse questions. Yet both Johnny Vegas and Jason Manford come up with a correct answer (and in Manford's case an impressively comprehensive one) almost immediately. Are the guests getting smarter or the questions easier? Aisling Bea and regular Alan Davies can't compete with such esoteric knowledge. In fact she almost gives up after hearing about a strange northern pursuit involving larded-up legs. "The more I get to know you, the more I think you men are mad," she states. Oh, and you'll never think of the word "sufficient" in the same way after Vegas's revelation.

Things you might not know about . . . Aisling Bea

Some lesser known facts about the Irish comedian.