Alex Macqueen

TV preview: Together, BBC3, episode 3

It's hard to decide what I like the most about Together. Alex MacQueen's inspired performance as pedantic dad-he-was-born-to-play Ashley? Vicki Pepperdine's fussy trapped-in-her-marriage mum Lesley or Jonny Sweet's starring role as Tom, the man-child trying to woo Ellen (Cara Theobold).

Paparazzi descend on Easthill Park hospital when Comfort Evans, ditzy star of reality TV show SHAG ("Sussex Hunks and Girlfriends"), pops in for an optimistically incognito pregnancy checkup. It doesn't take long for copper-turned-midwife Matthew (Darren Boyd) to get roped into a campaign to put the press corps off the scent. If ITV's maternity-ward sitcom can feel a little underwritten, a game cast - notably Boyd, Fay Ripley and Pompidou escapee Alex Macqueen - enhance the farce as best they can.

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.

Possibly UK television's first sitcom set in an obstetrics and gynaecology ward, this comes from Green Wing creator Victoria Pile. Darren Boyd stars as Matthew, the sole male midwife at a busy maternity ward. Despite his presence ruffling a few traditionalist feathers, Matthew's chipper demeanour remains unchiselled. A situation certainly fit to deliver, though when an "overweight woman isn't pregnant after all" clunker lands within minutes, enthusiasm may well be curbed. On the plus side, Alex Macqueen impresses as icy obstetrician Luke.

This will come as a comic relief to many. Comedian Matt Lucas has given up writing in the English language. Well, at least he has in his latest offering, Pompidou (BBC Twop, Sunday).

Indeed, the only uttering of the Queen's English was "good afternoon". After which, it was a half-hour of boggling gibberish which made an episode of Jamaica Inn sound like a Shakespeare soliloquy recited by Mark Rylance. I do sincerely hope that BBC Worldwide release the scripts of this show in a leather-bound volume. Or did a script even exist?

The set up was quite promising. It centred on the toff Pompidou (Lucas) who cannot afford to live in his rundown stately home, so has decamped to an ugly caravan in the grounds with his butler Hove (Alex MacQueen), and a dog (Dog). After establishing this, it was a slide into befuddlement, as Pompidou and Hove first went fishing, then ended up in the local hospital after the manservant swallowed a bird. No, the feathered variety.

There were moments when I did laugh, but they may have been involuntary spasms upon realising that someone had commissioned this "silent movie". Although, of course, there was speech, just not in a language we recognised.

Was this comedy turned down by CBeebies, because it sounded like everyone, excepting the pooch, had received elocution lessons from In The Night Garden's Igglepiggle? The great surprise was the credits, showing five writers, including Lucas, were responsible for the show. So, that is one to put the kettle on, two to find the cups, and two more to open the biscuits.

I am desperate to say that it was the worst comedy since Amanda Holden's breakthrough role in Big Top, but I am going to hold that judgement until I see a foreign sub-titled version of Pompidou. A version dubbed in Swedish would be my pick, introduced by the chef from Sesame Street.

Radio Times review

There's no comedy on TV at the moment like this, a remarkable comeback effort by Matt Lucas. There have, however, been plenty like it in years gone by: the quickest way to describe it would be The Fast Show's Rowley Birkin QC starring in a remake of Mr Bean, with other influences stretching further back to European mime and even Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

Lucas is a crass toff who, judging by the fact that he lives in a caravan and spends this entire episode foraging for food, has fallen on hard times. He and his butler Hove (Alex MacQueen) try fishing and hunting but end up in hospital, a caper that at no stage involves intelligible dialogue.

Everyone gibbers expressively instead, in a family goof-fest where a good half of the gags are gems.

A largely dialogue-free sitcom in the vein of Mr Bean, and with a similar gibberish-spouting manchild at its heart, Pompidou represents Matt Lucas's welcome return to unapologetic silliness. The eponymous star (Lucas) is an eccentric aristocrat fallen on hard times and living in a caravan with his loyal retainer Hove (The Inbetweeners's Alex MacQueen) and Afghan hound Marion. Tonight's opening episode sees a starving Pompidou go fishing with a rockpooling net before a bizarre accident forces him to turn surgeon and extract a live bird from Hove's stomach - all in the pursuit of a square meal.

What Pompidou lacks in narrative coherence it more than makes up for in its fully realised sense of humour and attention to detail. The slapstick comedy makes full use of Lucas's abundant physical gifts and avoids the easy route of scatology, while a plethora of in-jokes and running gags ensure it's as appealing for adults as children. Arsenal fans, for example, will appreciate Pompidou's choice of undershirt, and there's even a brief return for George Dawes's unofficial theme tune, Peanuts. Above all, it's a genuine relief to see such a naturally funny man back on top form after a series of dismal misfires including David Walliams reunion Come Fly with Me and panel show The Matt Lucas Awards. In recent years, perhaps only the Horrible Histories team have mastered the art of family comedy with such instant aplomb.

New Matt Lucas comedy show filmed in Langleybury

Film crews for the new BBC show, "Pompidou" were seen in Langleybury Lane and will see Alex MacQueen join Matt Lucas in the comedy which is set to be aired early next year.