David Suchet

A grand surprise arrived on Friday in the shape of Decline and Fall. It shouldn't, perhaps, have been that much of a surprise, given that the man responsible for adapting Evelyn Waugh's first published (and most splenetically Welsh-hating, liberal-baiting) novel was James Wood, also responsible for the ever-subtle Rev., and that the casting was able to plumb such glorious heights as Stephen Graham, Douglas Hodge, David Suchet and Eva Longoria.

For once, an adaptation caught Waugh's inner voice, that singular interwar fruity whine of pomp, self-pity and high intellect, the all leavened by an utterly redemptive sense of the absurdity of the human condition, particularly Waugh's own. Crucially, this was achieved without resort to the artifice of narrative voiceover, à la Brideshead. Wood just picked his quotes very cleverly. In episode one (of three), Jack Whitehall's beleaguered Everyman is sent down from Oxford (with an achingly unfair whiff of un-trouser-edness) and reduced to teaching in the boondocks, where every pupil is as damaged, yet at least 10 times as smart, as the masters. He soon alights on the ultimate piece of time-wasting for his spoilt charges, "an essay on self-indulgence. There will be points for the longest, irrespective of any possible merit."

There are the stock grotesques, yes - even Douglas Hodge, as the chief sot/pederast, doesn't get to chew the scenery with quite the liberated zest of David Suchet's headmaster, reacting to freedom from all those dreary Poirots as would a vampire released on virgin necks, toothily telling Whitehall's straight-bat ingenu that "we schoolmasters must temper discretion with... deceit" - but, by and large, this is happily grounded more in realism than caricature. What emerges is a true comic fantasy, yes, but also one which captures that dreadful damp twixt-war tristesse: a certain boredom with politics, a certain class obsession, an irresolute yet total anger at... something. An End of Days. This BBC production, in which all excel, is thrillingly timely, given our fractious nation's rude recent decision to Decline, and Flail, and also gives trembling hope that, finally, we might get a faithful rendition of the wisest funny novel of the 20th century, Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim.

Jack Whitehall was born to play Paul Pennyfeather in this Evelyn Waugh adaptation. In a lively opener, Pennyfeather is expelled from Oxford for "running the length of the quadrangle without his trousers" so is forced to take a job as a teacher in Wales. There he meets a kidnapper (Stephen Graham) and headmaster Dr Fagan (David Suchet). Life gets more interesting when his eyes meet those of wealthy widow Margot (Eva Longoria) over a foie gras sandwich. What larks.

Decline And Fall review

Imagine such a bygone world where someone would get a job they are ill-suited for, simply because they are posh. How foolish! Still, it will be interesting to see how George Osborne's London Evening Standard reviews the new BBC One adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's stinging social satire Decline And Fall.

TV preview: Decline And Fall, BBC1

Well we've gone back to the 1970s this week, we might as well go the whole hog and go back to the 1920s with this three-part television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's classic novel. And talking of hogs, we've barely been a minute into the action when the chumps from Oxford's riotous Bollinger Club have lobbed a pig's head out of the window into the quad.

David Suchet reveals why he had to leave film set

David Suchet has revealed that he was asked to leave the set of the BBC's Decline and Fall while filming alongside Jack Whitehall.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong review on BBC1

Perhaps best are those moments that need no translation - props failing and actors fluffing - but Peter Pan Goes Wrong is also a model for cross-platform collaboration, milking every possible benefit of a new format.

This is a great compromise; if you want jolly, festive TV but can't stand the cheesiness of panto, and all the sweet-rustling and child-howling that goes with it, then you'll enjoy this. David Suchet presents this pantomime which makes gentle fun of the BBC and amateur dramatics. Backstage, he tells us the BBC are presenting this performance of Peter Pan which is brought to us by the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society. It's all part of the BBC's noble commitment to community theatre and localism. "This is not a pantomime!" insists the pretentious director. "It's a traditional Christmas vignette." "Oh no it isn't," says the lead actor, slyly.

There follows a performance of Peter Pan, filmed on stage in front of a live audience, which is riddled with mishaps and panics as the amateur dramatics company proves just how amateur it really is. Peter Pan crashes into scenery, props collapse and every aspect of panto is lovingly ridiculed.

The good news is that David Suchet appears to be better at presenting documentaries than Sid Field. The bad news is that we didn't see much of Sid Field.

However, this is not Suchet's fault, as very little archive footage of him exists. He only made a handful of films, the most famous of which was London Town, a film panned by critics and which fails to show him at his best. Not only that, there is only one existing sound interview with him. Due to the lack of footage, very few people remember him, although he was one of the most popular comedians of his age.

Not only was he incredibly popular, he was an influence on both Tony Hancock and Spike Milligan. He invented character comedy and camp comedy. He was a popular singer and he could also do straight acting, starring in the lead role in the stage version of Harvey.

There was much to like with this show. My favourite titbit from it, mind, was the story of Field's wedding day. As his mother didn't approve of his marriage he got married on the quiet. His wedding day dinner was a cup of tea and some fish and chips from the local chip shop.

The best bit of news from this programme is that a previously lost feature film starring Field called That's The Ticket has been rediscovered, so we can see him perform in a more successful manner.