Chris Ramsey

Video: 'The Naked Truth' with... Chris Ramsey

Taking a break from making the nation laugh, Ramsey came into DS Towers for our celebrity confessional, 'The Naked Truth'.

Where you stand on Hebburn (BBC Two) rather depends on whether you find comedian Chris Ramsey, who plays lead character Jack, as charming, witty and engaging as he plainly finds himself.

For my money, he comes across as a tad too pleased with himself.

It's symptomatic of how Hebburn, a sitcom hewn from the age-old generation-clash tradition, misses the salt-of-the-earth family feel it appears to be going for.

The character of Dot, the resident nan, is another case in point. She's a grasping woman whose blood has turned to pure bile and it's a wonder no one has dumped her in the nearest canal.

Yet we're supposed to chortle at her manipulatively nasty behaviour - I think.

It's all an awful waste of Gina McKee as Pauline, the mother of the piece and a woman mocked and undermined at every turn.

McKee lends her a serenity that's unlikely in the circumstances - she should pack her bags in the car, put ailing hubby Joe in the backseat, drive down the A1 and leave the lot of them to rot.

Chirpy Geordie comedian Chris Ramsey returns as chirpy Geordie journalist Jack - he's pretty much playing his stand-up self - in this old-school family sitcom where love means insulting your nearest and dearest. Jack's not quite such a lad this time around. He's been promoted to editor of the local newspaper and has a baby on the way to boot. He's got numbskulls at work to deal with and girlfriend Sarah (Fresh Meat's Kimberley Nixon) is putting the pressure on to find a place of their own. It's enough to put the dampener on any lad's chirpiness...

It's good to be back in the Tyneside town of Hebburn again, with the chaotic, rambling and well-meaning Geordie family nestled in its warm heart. Young married couple Jack and Sarah (Chris Ramsey and Kimberley Nixon) are still unwilling lodgers with Jack's parents Pauline and Joe (Gina McKee and Jim 'Vic Reeves' Moir). But Sarah's nesting instinct is overpowering now that she's pregnant, hormonal and desperate for a home of her own.

Jack is editing the hopeless local newspaper ("Dog Burns Down Factory") and Jack's mother, the magnificently passive/aggressive Dot (Pat Dunn) is still hurling barbs at Pauline. There are some great satellite characters - deluded wannabe popstar Gervaise and brassy care home worker Denise - and though the laughs might not be hearty, you'll smile a lot.

Chris Ramsey interview

Stand-up and Hebburn actor Chris Ramsey has claimed that the fallout from the Russell Brand, Jonathan Ross Sachsgate incident is still being felt.

Chris Ramsey interview

The comedian, who enjoys bumming about, talks stand-up, Hebburn and the reason he got kicked off Soccer AM.

Hebburn series two: Chris Ramsey confirms filming dates

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Preview: The Week Ahead April 22 - 28

Previews of Rob Newman, Andy Zaltzman and Chris Ramsey.

When this show was first broadcast as a Comedy Lab pilot, I mentioned at the time some of the ideas appeared to be a bit limited, while others were repeated far too often. But this new series of Anna & Katy is a vast improvement on the original outing.

Written and performed mainly by Anna Crilly and Katy Wix, most of the sketches take the form of TV show parodies. Rice Britannia (Great British Bake Off with the only dish being bowls of rice), Küntwords (a German Countdown), and Ignition (a car servicing firm parodying The Apprentice) all make an appearance.

There's also Congratulation!, a series of sketches from the pilot, where the hosts congratulate minor things, with the "Biggest Congratulation" being displayed via the hosts... showing their censored vaginas.

I liked most of the sketches. Personal favourites included The Lane, a naff soap opera sponsored by an optician (resulting in the whole plot being driven towards promoting their glasses), and a poll show called World's Worst Word, which featured a comedian who looked not too dissimilar to Chris Ramsey.

Anna & Katy deserves to become a hit.

Gigglebox weekly #78

This week Ian Wolf encounters out-of-date satire, "Up the Junction" sung in the style of Donald Duck, and a sketch character that looks a bit like Chris Ramsey.