David Ramsden

Clare in the Community is back and - eek! - it opens with a body. Have Harry Venning and David Ramsden turned our favourite social worker into Miss Marple? The corpse turns out to be one of the many furry animals in Clare's household named after husband Brian. I shall return to the series, but this is a brilliant opener.

Also recommended is the return of Clare in the Community, written by David Ramsden and Harry Venning. In the first part of the latest series we found out how Clare (Sally Phillips) was coping with motherhood, or at least how the au pair was managing. Names were also an issue - should the baby be called Thomas or Obama, and what was that woman at the family centre called who had given 20 years' dedicated service? Beautifully observed performances from an impressive cast and some genuinely funny writing make this a must.

Harry Venning and David Ramsden's Clare In the Community is a lesson in how to return, series after series, with freshly reworked comic material. Sally Phillips' social worker Clare has become the mother of little Thomas Paine (after the social reformer, following a flirtation with the name Mahatma). Her world view has become more excruciating than ever, ramping up the comedy to heady heights.

Sally Phillips plays Clare, self-absorbed social worker and new mother in the latest series of the sitcom by Harry Venning and David Ramsden. In their meticulously observed comedy of modern manners, Liza Tarbuck plays best friend Helen, Alex Lowe is Brian, the proud new father, whose best mate is Simon (Andrew Wincott), Helen's ex-husband. Nina Conti retains her role of put-upon Megan and doubles up as Nali, the au pair (not nearly as put-upon as she at first seems). Meanwhile, is this baby to be called Mandela, Mahatma or Thomas Paine?