David Tennant

Although the pilot was a BBC affair, this new comedy series arrives on Sky. Created by and starring comedians/music video directors Chris Bran and Justin Chubb, it's set on the isolated fictional isle of Jinsy. It's all about silly situations and funny wordplay, more like The Goons and Stanley Unwin than Little Britain. Its good supporting cast includes Alice Lowe (Darkplace), Harry Hill and even David Tennant.

This is Jinsy preview

The island of Jinsy is the setting for This is Jinsy, a comedy due to start on Sky Atlantic on Monday 19 September 2011 and guest starring David Tennant.

Stephen Mangan bags title role in Postman Pat movie

Stephen Mangan, Rupert Grint, David Tennant and Jim Broadbent are set to deliver first-class vocal performances in a big-screen 3D Postman Pat animation.

Is it just me or does Head of Brand Siobhan Sharpe (Jessica Hynes) remind you of Natasha from The Apprentice?

I'm not quite sure if it's her sideways hairdo or that utter blankness behind the eyes as though her brain and her mouth aren't quite hooked up.

Either way, she's my favourite character in this comedy of cock-ups and her quest to find a "sonic brand" for the Olympics this week is another classic moment for her.

But the really big drama comes from the discovery of some ancient bones under the planned site. Or, in the words of narrator David Tennant: "The Aquatic Centre has suddenly gone from being this week's good news story to a mass grave..."

Personally, if I were Head of Deliverance Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville) I'd be more concerned that my Chief Construction Engineer is actually Mr Masood the postman from EastEnders.

David Tennant dons gold trousers & hairpiece for Jinsy

David Tennant's turn on This Is Jinsy will see him don gold trousers and a hairpiece, according to the show's script editor.

If though, you are one of those people who want to hear more about north London, or indeed the talented David Tennant, who pops up like a specially resilient strain of ground elder in every part of our cultural experience these days, then The Gobetweenies is for you. It features the kind of hands-on, amicably divorced parents who discuss Duchamp's urinals with their children over tea. Mimi, played by Sarah Alexander, is "a smart award-winning children's fiction writer" intent on 24/7 education. As one of her children says, "anything you ever want to talk about it's bingo, she's off to get a book." David Tennant as Joe frets satirically about the agony of children having to shuttle between two sets of parents, and decides to move back in. Phoebe Abbott, who sounds uncannily like Pip in The Archers, plays an irritating child very convincingly. Anyone who rues the day that "parent" became a verb will hate this, but to the rest of us it's all very recognisable. It's occasionally funny. Whether that makes it satire is another matter.

David Tennant plays Joe, father of 10-year-old Tom and teenage Lucy. He's no longer married to Mimi (Sarah Alexander). She's on marriage three now but both parents try hard to keep the ties that, naturally, will bind them all at least until the two children have finished school. So there's lots of driving around, talking on mobile phones, picking up and bringing back, trying not to contradict each other. But it's all very wearing so Joe has a bright idea. Is is practical? This comedy by Marcella Evaristi shows every sign of being neatly drawn from life.

Dysfunctional families are always a good source of comedy, and they don't come much more dysfunctional than the extended family of Tom and Lucy Millar. They are the children of divorced parents Joe and Mimi, now both on their third marriages, and are constantly being shuttled between their two homes. Played by newcomers Finlay Christie and Phoebe Alexander with consummate ease, their bickering and camaraderie in the face of their parents' idiosyncrasies feel totally natural. David Tennant's Joe is just a dad wanting to do right by his kids, while Sarah Alexander is excellent as the anxious Mimi. It could be classed as Outnumbered for radio, but that would be doing a disservice to a nuanced comic take on life among the chattering classes of north London.

The Gobetweenies, Radio 4, preview

Gillian Reynolds previews a Radio 4 comedy about divorced parents, starring David Tennant.

While we've always not minded Graham Norton, even during his mid-career slump - remember when he was on C4 every minute of the day? - it's only now that we've come to really admire him as a good broadcaster. Perhaps there's something about that 10am R2 slot that makes TV chat show hosts relax and reveal their true selves. It certainly did it for Jonathan Ross all those years ago. Or maybe its just winning on Just A Minute, but now Norton is more mature, more likeable and just downright good.

Tonight, he has David Tennant and his mate, the hilarious comedian Catherine Tate and music from Glee star Josh Groban. Even though this doesn't sound like a whole lot of material to work with - or indeed any good at all - somehow it will end up being very entertaining.