Ben Miller (I)

New midlife crisis-based farce, full of cliches but nevertheless entertaining thanks to a fine cast including Ben Miller and Caroline Catz. Workaholic Murray (Miller) has neglected his wife Bex (Catz) for too long so she decides to leave him just as he's planning her surprise 40th. His secretary is, of course, hopelessly in love with him and he's oblivious. The couple, meanwhile, are forced to keep up appearances as their marriage crumbles, which makes for an interesting opener.

Ben Miller interview

Surprisingly, Ben Miller, who plays Murray, admits that he based the character on himself!

Ben Miller interview

Funny man Ben Miller, 50, talks being stupid in real life (not true), living for comedy, and changing his name to Benji-Wenji...

When I hear the words "romantic comedy" I reach for my revolver. So it was with I Want My Wife Back, starring Ben Miller as the time-poor, emotion-rich Murray and Caroline Katz as the neglected-to-the-point-of-jacking-it-in wife Bex. It could easily have been gruesomely saccharine with canned laughter (unfathomably back in fashion) dubbed over to make up for lame dialogue and weak acting. But it really isn't as bad as that. Indeed it has a pleasingly unpredictable quality about the action that belies the promise of the series title.

Tellingly, I found myself ending the first episode with some faint interest in what happens next to the two protagonists. I know that's not such a ringing endorsement, but like Murray and Bex's marriage, the show shouldn't be written off just yet. Smell my cheese.

Ben Miller and Caroline Catz interview

Ben Miller and Caroline Catz talk about their new romantic comedy series.

Ben Miller: science has always been my inspiration

Science, complained Ben Miller a couple of years ago, remains in a ghetto, despite the public's keen appetite for it. The comedian and actor was referring to television scheduling: "Most TV execs are arts graduates," he said. "They hated science at school...I loved science."

Channel 4's commitment to cutting edge comedy continued with this satirical take on the campaign leading up to May's general election. Writers Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton employed the same technique they did during Drop the Dead Donkey and wrote some of the more topical jokes on the day that the episodes were filmed. This gave Ballot Monkeys a very relevant edge and what's more it was very funny to boot with special mention going to Ben Miller's frustrated Lib Dem supporter and Sarah Hadland's awful UKip member. Ultimately Ballot Monkeys wasn't just one of the funniest sitcoms of the year it was also one of the most inventive.