Daniel Rigby

It's day 274 of Operation Piccolo, with doofus copper Chris (Daniel Rigby) no closer to bringing down the Sarkissian crime family from within. But the attempted assassination of patriarch Ara suddenly sows suspicion throughout the entire clan, endangering his flimsy cover. With the end of the first series looming, there's a distinct sense of escalation, with Rigby's go-for-broke performance - with echoes of Simon Pegg at his most endearingly panicky - helping punch up nods to movie classics Reservoir Dogs and Miller's Crossing.

Episode three of the likable, sometimes surreal fish-out-of-water comedy about a neurotic traffic cop (Daniel Rigby) embedded in an Armenian crime family. If keeping up with the Sarkissians was starting to seem too easy for Operation Piccolo's puppyish double agent, there's a injection of menace when notorious enforcer Tommi Lylozian is released from jail. A volatile loose cannon in the convincing form of Keith Allen, Tommi twigs that something's not quite pukka with the crew's newest, twitchiest recruit.

Undercover is "edgier" than your average sitcom

Dave is about to launch its first wholly original sitcom - and star Daniel Rigby has promised that Undercover is "edgier" than your average comedy.

Chris (Daniel Rigby) is an undercover policeman, currently on a mission to ingratiate himself into a violent Armenian family and gain evidence of their criminal dealings. A mild cop show spoof at times borrowing the mock-dramatic pacing of Charlie Brooker and Daniel Maier's police procedural parody A Touch Of Cloth - but not, sadly, the jokes - what this feels most like is a comedy vehicle for Rigby, otherwise known as the awkward one from the BT adverts. Which would be no bad thing if it weren't such a feeble effort.

Radio Times review

This original scripted comedy is an attempt by Dave to break out of its reputation for just peddling Mock the Week repeats, and it's certainly an ambitious beginning. Daniel Rigby headlines the series as Chris, a bumbling and allergy-ridden cop sent undercover into the Armenian Mafia who must try to keep his cover without actually committing any crimes.

The series has a strong cast - Coupling's Sarah Alexander is good as Chris's no-nonsense police handler and Sherlock's Yasmine Akram excels as the femme fatale who may suspect Chris's secret - but generally speaking, Undercover's high concept is a little too ambitious to be supported by the weak plotting and thin jokes on offer.

Daniel Rigby chooses his perfect playlist

Normally in life I wait for people to tell me what I think about something before I offer my thoughts. I was delighted to do this and discover I did actually have some thoughts. The fact that I appear to have copied previous contestant's answers may undermine my previous statement. Anyway, time will be my judge. Fingers crossed that I win.

The screen journey of Daniel Rigby

The comedian and actor stars in Dave's first scripted comedy tonight - but you might be surprised by where you've seen him before...

Newcastle-filmed Undercover to premiere in June

North East producer and co-writer are part of creative team behind series, starring Bafta-winning Daniel Rigby, which is about to air on Dave channel.

As it returns for a second series, Big School really seems to have found its comedy feet. David Walliams' performance is still every bit as subtle as his cross-dressing "I'm a laydee" Emily was in Little Britain. That is to say, not at all.

But Big School is well enough written to survive his camp, asexual gurning and the dream cast add extra polish to an already shiny script.

In tonight's opener, music teacher Mr Martin (Daniel Rigby) is about to launch his pop career. (His single, written by David Arnold and Michael Price, sounds like an entirely credible X Factor winner's song.)

Mr Barber (Steve Speirs) has had to take a career change, PE teacher Mr Gunn (Philip Glenister) is now also teaching geography, and even the confident Miss Postern (Catherine Tate) finds herself at a crossroads in her career.

In one slightly depressing piece of casting, former EastEnder Cheryl Fergison replaces Julie T Wallace as the wordless lab assistant who has the hots for Walliams' Mr Church. Why depressing? Because making someone the butt of the joke just because they don't look like Angelina Jolie feels uncomfortably like bullying.

But the real reason for Big School's success is probably Frances de la Tour. Even when she's not actually on screen, just knowing that she's lurking somewhere in the building as vinegary headmistress Ms Baron is reassuring.