Catherine Tate

School-set sitcom created by David Walliams, featuring a supergroup of supporting players. The action in this opener centres on timid chemistry teacher Mr Church (Walliams), hoping to engineer some chemistry between himself and new French tutor Miss Postern (Catherine Tate). Soon finding himself competing with prickly PE master Mr Gunn (Philip Glenister) for her affections, Church turns to his class for seduction tips. If this debut is anything to go by, this looks a spiritual sibling to long-forgotten 90s class-com Chalk. It's that poor.

From Please Sir! to Jack Whitehall's Bad Education, schools are a magnet for the sitcom gang.

The latest to answer the ringing of the bell is David Walliams, taking half-term break from teasing Simon Cowell to play lovestruck chemistry teacher Keith Church.

The object of the bumbling Keith's affections is la belle Miss Postern (Catherine Tate), the flame-haired new French teacher who doesn't actually know much French.

With Philip Glenister as a randy PE teacher, Frances de la Tour as a mean headteacher, Joanna Scanlan as a lesbian drama teacher and a scandalously under-used Daniel Rigby, the cast is top-notch - even if the jokes are a little old school.

New sitcoms on mainstream channels always stare directly into the jaws of darkness as purse-lipped audiences wait, arms crossed, to be entertained. Big School probably faces an even more hostile reception as it's co-written (with the Dawson Brothers) by David Walliams, who also stars. I bet there are a few people waiting to take him down a peg or two.

So please give Big School a chance. It doesn't ooze sophistication, in fact it's pretty silly. But it has a great cast and I heard myself laughing out loud in a few places. Walliams is secondary school deputy head of science Mr Church, a shy man with a terrible perm who's inexperienced with women and who listens to Phil Collins in his Austin Allegro. But he's transfixed by the new French teacher, comely Miss Postern (Catherine Tate). Big School turns out to be rather sweetly old-fashioned - in a good way.

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Catherine Tate & Adrian Chiles out in California

Catherine Tate and Adrian Chiles take a romantic stroll.

Catherine Tate dated Adrian Chiles during Euro 2012

Funnygirl Catherine Tate flew out for a date with secret love Adrian Chiles while he was presenting TV coverage of Euro 2012, The Sun can reveal.