Claire Skinner

Tonight in the semi-improvised family sitcom, another guest arrives to stay, just as the Brockmans are trying to get rid of Auntie Angela (Samantha Bond). Mother Sue (Claire Skinner) has to make a decision about the girlfriend of eldest son Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey). Meanwhile, stars of the show Ben and Karen (Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez) discuss dreams, the Mafia and trampolining bears. As one does. This is the last in the series but fans shouldn't despair - the Brockmans will be back for a Christmas special.

This semi-improvised comedy continues to assert itself as top dog of British comedies, delivering more laughs per minute than perhaps any home-grown sitcom of the past decade. A bold claim, perhaps, but week after week Outnumbered brilliantly captures the essence of family life today, in which a generation of middle-class parents are in thrall to their bossy children. We all know a Sue or a Pete (Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis), who tie themselves in knots trying to do right by their impossible offspring.

The programme also packs in a remarkable number of throwaway jokes. Tonight, for example, Pete is late home from work. "Passenger action on the trains," he says. "I think they were lynching the driver." And the children's quirky interpretations of the world are impressively relevant. The flights of fancy from Karen (Ramona Marquez) tend to be the funniest, thanks to the juxtaposition of solemn observation and her adorable voice. Tonight, when Karen is quizzing her mother on terrorism, Sue mentions that when she was young, the terrorism threat came from Ireland. "The Irish? Are you sure?" squeaks Karen. "You mean people like Graham Norton and Jedward?"

Bill Bailey to star in Doctor Who Christmas special

Bill Bailey is to appear in this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, with Alexander Armstrong, Outnumbered actress Claire Skinner and The Fast Show's Arabella Weir.

It's eerily quiet in the Brockman household. Karen's staying overnight with her fashion-mad friend Tanya, pretending to be the new Gok Wan; Ben's terrorising the other kids and their teacher at an activity camp; while Jake's out with his band mates, doing whatever teenage boys do. "It's not natural!" whimpers Sue, visualising how empty life will be when it's just her and Pete. Even the prospect that they could have sex during the day isn't helping.

Except that they're not completely alone. Archie is staying with them and although he doesn't argue or answer back or ask impossible questions as the kids do (after all, he is a dog), he's a bit of a comedy star, acting as a wonderfully doleful, four-legged straight man to Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner.

Pete (Hugh Dennis) and Sue (Claire Skinner) are left home alone when the Brockman children go their various ways for the weekend: Ben to an adventure camp where he takes pride in terrorising the teacher; Karen, who has written UGG on the side of her boots, to her fashion-mad friend Tanya's house; and Jake is out jamming with his bandmates. With all that spare time on their hands, the pair get a taste of what life will be like with an empty nest.

"What the hell has happened in this toilet, it's like a urine tsunami," cries Sue (Claire Skinner), prompting tonight's male/female divide in the Brockman household. The girls hit the shops while the men are forced to tackle household chores. Ben (Daniel Roche) concocts a Heston Blumenthal-style dinner with dire consequences. Meanwhile Karen (Ramona Marquez) has her eye on a pair of leopard-print heels. Now in its fourth series, this acclaimed sitcom still has legs. But as the kids get older, their growing self-awareness strains the programme's naturalistic style.

Now back for its fourth series, the main question concerning Outnumbered is, 'Is it still funny after all this time?' The answer would appear to be 'Yes' - mind you, the fact that the first episode went out after My Family probably helped.

Eldest son Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey) is getting into a stage of typical teenage stroppiness, rallying against other members of the family and their attitudes, such as his mother Sue's (Claire Skinner) views of gay stereotypes; troublesome Ben (Daniel Roche) is refusing to wear his Wii safety cord and is under the belief that Jeremy Clarkson is gay; and curious Karen (Ramona Marquez) has an idea for stopping people stealing mobile phones by using bubonic plague.

The parents also have their own trouble, with father Pete (Hugh Dennis) quitting his job as a history teacher over a point of principle (and seemingly his own stupidity) and now working as a supply teacher, meaning Sue is working full time - and Karen is not happy about that. Pete is also having trouble with a eulogy at the funeral of his late gay uncle, which Sue finds amousing.

Outnumbered is still one of the best sitcoms around as far as I'm concerned. The semi-improvisation with the children is a joy to watch, especially when it comes to Karen. Let's hope it continues to keep the pace up.

Weird, isn't it, that on the same night that My Family, BBC1's old-style sitcom about the comic domestic trials of the middle-class Harper family, quietly shuffles off TV's mortal coil the new series of Outnumbered, BBC1's semi-improvisational and much more realistic domestic comedy about the middle-class Brockman family, starts a new series.

Over the previous three series the show's young stars have honed their adult-baiting antics to perfection, while the weary, defeated or bemused expressions on the faces of Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis ring ever more true. The family are attending Uncle Bob's funeral in this episode. "The important thing to remember is that it's not a sad day," Sue tries to tell Karen, who very reasonably retorts, "Well, it is for Uncle Bob." Ben, meanwhile, insists he's been to a cremation before - except Pete points out that it was actually a hog roast. Not surprisingly, the vicar (John Sessions) wishes they'd never come.

Just in time to replace My Family, the popular sitcom about the chaotic Brockman family returns for its fourth series. This opening episode sees a family funeral, so parents Pete and Sue (the suitably beleaguered Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner) must decide which of their unruly brood to take along. John Sessions pops up in an amusing cameo as the vicar. It might be lighter on laughs than a truly top-drawer sitcom, but it's charming stuff and you can see why it wins awards, mainly thanks to the children's semi-improvised performances.

Another chance to catch the first episode of series three of the delightful family sitcom starring Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner. Gran takes the Brockmans on an outing to London. Needless to say it's an agonising day: daughter Karen (Ramona Marquez) thinks modern art is rubbish; Ben (Daniel Roache) plays "spot the chav" and stabs one of the Trafalgar Square lions with a ruler; and older brother Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey) suffers serious trauma when he is unable to send a text message. A fourth series is slated for later this year.