Elis James

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Tez Ilyas, Elis James and The Jeremy Corbyn Night.

If you like that joke [about masturbation], then you'll enjoy the wanking rota in Crims. This new sitcom is set in a young offenders' institution where Luke and Jason (Elis James and Kadiff Kirwan) have lately been banged up. The main joke is that Luke, wrongfully imprisoned, is eager to stay out of trouble but can't help incurring the wrath of both staff and inmates while also worrying about his faithless girlfriend. James is a likeable presence, and despite looking about 10 years too old for the role, finds different ways to play panic, fear and anxiety.

The script is by Adam Kay and Dan Swimer, whose basic premise has more going for it than Cockroaches and yet, with the fusillade of gags about bodily fluids, body parts and sexual incontinence, it feels as if the bar has been set too low. It's no excuse pinning the blame on the BBC Three demographic. This was the channel which proved with Gavin & Stacey that it knows how to involve organs not located in the underwear region, such as the brain and the heart. Winston Stanley Fletcher can rest easy in his grave.

Before Crims aired on Thursday, several people had been tweeting about how good it was so my expectations were high. Imagine my disappointment then that this sitcom, set in a young offender's institute, was both clichéd and unfunny.

Crims' story focuses on mild-mannered Luke (Elis James) who finds himself locked up at Sunnybank View after unwittingly acting as the getaway driver for his girlfriend's dim-witted brother Jason (Kadiff Kirwan). I found it very hard to believe that Luke would be convicted alongside Jason and from then on things just got worse.

Nothing had been done to make the characters any different from those seen in previous prison comedies as we had the snitch, the inmate who could smuggle anything into the institution and of course Sunnybank's tough man Marcel (Theo Barklem-Biggs).

The jokes, if you can call them that, were repetitive at best, as Jason kept getting Luke into scrapes that meant he was always being beaten up or embarrassed in front of the guards.

I personally feel that the most annoying element of Crims was the character of Jason and in particular Kirwin's awful performance. Although Jason is meant to be a bit annoying, his manner is so irritating that you fail to believe that this sort of person actually exists.

At times I found myself winding the programme along just so I didn't have to watch another excruciating scene featuring one of the worst comedy characters in recent memory.

The presence of Ricky Champ, from the brilliant Him & Her, as the head guard just reminded me how good BBC Three sitcoms can be.

Whilst not as painful as Some Girls, Crims was still a hard show to sit through and I wonder why the usually reliable BBC Three took a punt on this rather annoying sitcom.

Radio Times review

Luke (Elis James) finds himself banged up for a two-year stretch in a young offenders' institute after his girlfriend's idiot brother Jason (Kadiff Kirwan) shanghais him into a bank robbery. Guess who's his cellmate.

This isn't Porridge. It's a sitcom set in a prison, yes, but it's younger, less weary and, frankly, less funny. Yet it's not without its charms. Luke isn't the only innocent in this prison, with proceedings having the childish air of the playground, rather than terrifying air of the exercise yard. Emphasis is on the youths, not the offenders. It's a deceptively clever approach to a difficult subject, and is perfect for Elis James's laconic, put-upon schtick.

TV preview: Crims

Welsh stand-up Elis James makes his TV debut in BBC Three's new prison-based sitcom.

Machynlleth Comedy Festival 2014: Our picks

Previews of Elis James, Benjamin Partridge, Lloyd Langford, Mike Bubbins, Jordan Brookes, Arthur Smith, Aisling Bea, Robin Ince, Richard Herring and Nick Helm.

Elis James: Town comic turns time traveller

"It's a campaign to encourage people to visit the 129 Cadw sites in the country. I have always had an interest in history, I studied history at university."

This week's new live comedy

Previews of Elis James and Chris Corcoran, Brian Appleton & Josh Widdicombe.

Elis James is speaking as a mother: in between meetings

An interview with Elis James about his two Fringe shows.