Diana Rigg

Morecambe & Wise in America review

It's a true Christmas treat, witnessing magical footage of the comedy nonpareils, seen for the first time in the UK. May our hearts bubble over with helpless laughter.

The set-up for A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong sees the fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society attempt to get themselves back on the BBC but hijacking a live dramatisation of A Christmas Carol starring Derek Jacobi as Scrooge. Taking over the role of Scrooge is Chris (Henry Shields) who sees himself as slightly better than the rest of the group and feels himself superior to Robert (Henry Lewis) who also wanted the leading role. The feud between Chris and Robert, with the former's assertion that he'd only give up the role of Scrooge if he were incapacitated is the basis of one of the show's running gags. Another brilliant joke is that Jonathan (Greg Tannahill) has once again forgotten all his words and so his lines have to be written on various props during his portrayal of Bob Cratchitt. Alongside Jacobi, the other famous face in A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong is Diana Rigg who agrees to narrate the play as her niece Sandra (Charlie Russell) is one of the players. We also learn, via footage from a party that is accidentally played over the green screen software, that Charlie is going to dump her boyfriend Max (Dave Hearn) once the production is over and later at the same party we see her smooching Chris. Just like last year's offering, A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong is a brilliant farce where the jokes come thick and fast thanks to props malfunctioning and actors forced into playing other roles. I personally thought that the show was one of the funniest comedies of the years and I found myself laughing consistently throughout the piece. One element of the show that I didn't feel was needed was laughter from a studio audience as it took away from the authenticity of this being a live performance of A Christmas Carol that had been hijacked. Furthermore, I felt at times that the story was a little rushed and given another ten or so minutes the Mischief Theatre Company could have provided even more laughs. But these are minor quibbles for a show that I believe should have had much more of a prominent position in the festive schedules. After two strong specials I hope that we get to see the Cornley Polytechnic invade our screens every December and I'd like to see these shows become a permanent fixture of the Christmas schedules.

Last Christmas the Mischief Threatre Comnpany they staged a delightfully silly version of Peter Pan, but this year's attempt, A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong (BBC1), was dragged under by the weight of its own jokes.

The set-up, which had the pranksters kidnapping Sir Derek Jacobi during a 'live TV production' of Scrooge, was far too convoluted. So was the dialogue, which included great slabs lifted from Dickens.

The running gags didn't so much run as limp. There was very little to take the audience by surprise: most of the jokes announced themselves in advance by telegram.

With Dame Diana Rigg narrating, it was a starry affair, and the cast never lacked energy. They flung themselves at every pratfall.

But there was no need to make it so complicated. Sometimes, a custard pie is just a custard pie.

From the most underwhelming of scenarios, Mackenzie Crook has weaved something glorious with the Detectorists. Lance (Toby Jones) and Andy (Crook, who writes and directs) lead quiet, for the most part disappointed, Middle English lives that are the quintessence of the humdrum. Their time detecting in the gentle landscapes around the suggestively-titled town of Danebury is not only a beautifully observed model of male friendship (as so often, conducted through gadgets), but, even more remarkably for a sitcom, a meditation about our place in history, through the discoveries made while detecting, and the cycle of the seasons. It's like a distillation of an early Thomas Hardy novel. And you can't say that about TOWIE. Not only are Jones and Crook both excellent, but the project is also assisted by a superb supporting cast, including a mother-and-daughter appearance from Rachael Stirling and Diana Rigg. Crook has called it a day after three series: he's mined the concept thoroughly now, before having to scrape the bottom. What on earth will he do next?

Detectorists review

Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones shine in the third and final series of this beautifully written and performed slice of life.

TV preview: Detectorists, BBC4

Writer, director and star Mackenzie Crook has said that this is the last series of Detectorists. If that's the case it will be a great shame.

Detectorists series 3 review

For, as so much of this delightful series, while it seems like nothing much is happening, there's such a lot beneath the surface, hidden from view. What a perfect metaphor metal detecting turns out to be.