Dawn French

The penultimate episode of the comedy drama series sees Roger (Alfred Molina) return from a meeting to which his newfound 31-year-old son failed to turn up, while Val (Dawn French) discovers that Pam Bagnall, her chief rival for the deputy head teacher post at her school, has accidentally left a voicemail on her mobile phone. Not just any old message, but a deeply incriminating one that might yet secure victory for Val.

After last week's bombshell, the atmosphere is tense in the Stevenson household. The pair are due to attend an important dinner but Roger's (Alfred Molina) missing front tooth is causing problems while Val (Dawn French) is stressing about her job application for the position of deputy head at her school. Despite the tension, the comedy drama's warmth and homeliness are still evident - just about - along with clever dialogue which will strike chords of familiarity with just about everyone.

Dawn French seen with her new boyfriend

Funnygirl Dawn French strolls on beach with lover.

"Will you speak normally! There's nobody here!" Val implores her husband tonight.

Which is precisely what I'm usually thinking when I'm watching this series because of the way Alfred Molina keeps using that special "I'm In A Play!" voice some actors are prone to.

And it's a shame when the brilliant dialogue manages to be so naturalistic and yet so utterly eccentric at the same time.

No other series would invest so much energy in thrashing out the perfect guest list for an imaginary party or scrutinising tea towel artwork for some kind of hidden meaning

But unlike shows such as EastEnders, where you're continually bludgeoned over the head with plot, this intriguing series is all about using subtext and undercurrents, a bit like a melody in a song picked out by a bass guitar.

Even casual comments are as loaded with significance as the special saucepans that Val, played by Dawn French, is using tonight to cook a celebratory dinner following Roger's industrial tribunal.

It's a slowly simmering episode but Roger is still nursing a secret that's about to blow the lids right off.

The most common complaint about this gentle, bittersweet comedy about a middle-aged married couple leading a quiet life of domestic dullness is that nothing much happens in it. Curiously, though, that's exactly what its fans consider its chief virtue. Each week writers (and sisters) Beth and Emma Kilcoyne serve up a confection of tragedy-tinged amusements spun entirely from the all-too-recognisable foibles we come to notice over time in ourselves and our partners, the games we play, the delusions we hide behind. That said, by its normal standards, this week's show is packed with incident: an unusually animated Roger (Alfred Molina) arrives home from a long-anticipated employment tribunal, only to have his composure derailed by a doorbell, an email and his subsequent need to make an emotional - and potentially devastating - confession to Val (Dawn French). All this comes against a backdrop of guest lists for imaginary parties, the trials of holidaying in the Scottish Isles, the politics of doodling on tea towels and the sadness that "opening" a new set of cooking pans can induce. Roger and Val may not be to every taste, but for those who love them this is an episode that must not be missed.

Lenny Henry goes public with new love Lisa

Lenny Henry and his girlfriend, producer Lisa Makin, are ready to take a more public approach to their relationship. The actor stepped out with his new love - who bears more than a passing resemblance to his ex-wife Dawn French.

Dawn French and Alfred Molina are so cosy and comfortable in their middle-aged domestic rut that this is the televisual equivalent of a slanket.

But, if you have the energy to split hairs about it, Val has just got in while Roger is pottering about at home, psyching himself up for his employment tribunal the following day - and so can't get in from anywhere.

He shouldn't worry, though - just witness the way he manages to take delivery of a totally free Chinese takeaway tonight.

With a shopping system like that, he need never work again.

But Val's arrival turns out to be a major distraction from Roger's fretting, as you'll be asking yourself, "What the hell has she come as?" Cleverly, her look isn't commented on until later.

There's no need, because Roger and Val are a couple who know each other inside out and they have no secrets from each other.

That's what Val thinks anyway, but she'll soon learn otherwise.

The BBC continues to redefine the word 'gentle' with this vaguely amusing, often underwhelming, Mike Leigh-lite comedy. It's impossible to dislike either Alfred Molina or Dawn French, but also difficult to care too much about their characters either, restricted as they are to a narrow and repetitive round of unconvincing sitcom misunderstandings, petty arguments and inevitable reconciliations. This week, Roger prepares for his forthcoming work tribunal by steeping himself in daytime TV legal dramas, while Val dresses up as Mrs Danvers for World Book Day. The show's occasional lapses into genuinely moving melodrama are absent this evening, leaving little to chew on besides a few witty asides and some predictably high-quality acting.

Tensions are high in the run-up to Roger's (Alfred Molina) unfair dismissal tribunal. Especially as Val (Dawn French) has had a tough day too, competing in the World Book Day fancy dress party at school. The big question is: has Roger jinxed his luck by ordering the Celebration Banquet from the Chinese takeaway on the eve of his day in court? A delightfully absurd half hour distilled from drab lives and everyday concerns.

Roger and Val wrenched laughs from the gut

The rather under-understated dissection of a marriage, Roger And Val Have Just Got In, was pepped up by something genuinely funny happening: Dawn French put a box over her head.