Diane Morgan
- English
- Actor, writer, director and comedian
Press clippings Page 17
TV review: Frayed, Sky One
It's funny but one senses by the end of the first episode, that maybe like those monologues, there is something darker lurking under the surface.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 26th September 2019Anna Maxwell Martin - last seen giving Superintendent Hastings an almighty tongue-lashing in series five of Line of Duty - reprises her altogether different role in this wonderfully shambolic comedy: as a perpetually struggling middle-class mother shunned by the PTA and entirely unsupported by her husband. Happily, Diane Morgan also returns as the mellow, completely hands-off mum Liz, while Sherlock's Tanya Moodie joins the fold as Meg, who causes a stir at the school gates.
Hannah J Davies, The Guardian, 31st August 2019Weirdy-beardy panel show regular Joe Wilkinson co-writes (with David Earl) and stars in this new three-part sitcom set on the Isle of Wight, a relatively untapped comedic setting. He plays Simon, nervously preparing to celebrate his 40th birthday by taking his girlfriend Donna (Diane Morgan) back to his childhood home to meet his daffy mum (Sue Johnston) and overbearing stepdad (Bobby Ball), unaware that his biological father (Nigel Havers) is also keen to elbow in on the fun.
Graeme Virtue, The Guardian, 31st August 2019Sky to air Sarah Kendall comedy
Australian stand-up Sarah Kendall has filmed a new comedy series for Sky One, airing from the end of September.
British Comedy Guide, 23rd August 2019BBC Comedy Shorts 2019 revealed
The BBC will present the shows Brain In Gear, Lazy Susan, Mandy and Sorry as its 2019 Comedy Shorts.
British Comedy Guide, 23rd July 2019Gold orders new sitcom The Cockfields
Channel Gold has ordered The Cockfields, a new sitcom about a family on the Isle of Wight. It's written by Joe Wilkinson and David Earl and stars Wilkinson and Diane Morgan.
British Comedy Guide, 3rd June 2019After Life is the latest offering from Ricky Gervais, where he plays widower Tony, a man corroded by grief (staying alive only to feed his dog) who decides to be as obnoxious as he likes and then kill himself, behaviour that he thinks is "like a superpower."
The cast includes Penelope Wilton as a widow, Diane Morgan as Tony's gobby co-worker, and Paul Kaye as a self-satisfied therapist. Apart from videos left by Tony's late wife (a touching Kerry Godliman), the heart is mainly provided by Ashley Jensen as a care-home worker looking after Tony's dad (David Bradley), and Mandeep Dhillon's rookie journalist at the local newspaper where Tony works.
The problem is the wildly swerving tone - from obnoxious to sentimental to caustic to maudlin to pointlessly vile. At one point Tony helps a junkie (Tim Plester) buy enough drugs to kill himself. Ho and ho. This just won't cut it as edgy comedy in the era of Succession, Russian Doll and so much more. After Life worked better during the running joke featuring Tony covering hopeless local stories, such as a boy playing recorders with his nostrils: "Why would people rather be famous for being shit than not famous at all?" This is Gervais's true superpower - as a carping, eye-rolling everyman.
Barbara Ellen, The Observer, 17th March 2019TV review: After Life
Ricky Gervais has completely shaken up our perceptions of what he is capable of with his latest series After Life, showing how this comic can do heart-breaking as well as hilarious.
Becca Moody, Moody Comedy, 17th March 2019Review: After Life
Followers of Ricky Gervais's work will spot elements form across the CV in his new Netflix series.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 9th March 2019Review: Gervais gets spiny & squishy in After Life
Like its snarky hero, After Life is essentially good-hearted.
Robert Lloyd, LA Times, 8th March 2019