Frankie Cocozza

The horribly-named I'm Spazticus was a hidden camera, fool-the-public format using actors with disabilities.

One of the first 'jokes' on the prank show saw a job applicant going for an interview. The receptionist warned him that the interviewer could be a 'Little Hitler' - and behind the desk, there was a man about 3ft 6in high, with his fringe greased sideways and a toothbrush moustache.

His phone rang: he grabbed it and started arguing about the time of his next appointment. 'I said nine! Nein, nein, nein, nein, nein!' Then he slammed his head on the desk, while the jobseeker sat and looked anxious.

It was witless and predictable and pointless. And it was a ghastly demonstration of the chasm that has opened up between classic television comedy and the guff that is churned out now.

Somebody at Channel 4 obviously thinks dwarfs are hilarious, because they featured in lots of 'pranks'. Six of them were carrying a coffin through the streets with a floral tribute spelling 'Happy' in red and white carnations.

A passer-by, a gangly lad about 6ft tall, was roped in to be a pall-bearer. He obviously didn't imagine that one of Snow White's seven dwarfs had passed away. He was just bored and passing the time. Meanwhile, a woman with one arm was trying to persuade minor celebs from TOWIE and The X Factor to join a campaign against prosthetic limbs being transplanted from chimpanzees.

She had film on an iPad of a man with a monkey's arm attached to his elbow. Even the notoriously dim Frankie Cocozza didn't seem particularly convinced by this. But if you're a reject from a TV talent contest who hasn't had a headline for months, you'll probably give any publicity a try.

Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail, 15th August 2013

Political correctness flies out of the window in this hidden-camera comedy show. It's You've Been Framed with disabilities, as both the public and desperate sort-of celebs (hello Brian Belo, Lauren Goodger and Frankie Cocozza) get duped by a bunch of dwarves, amputees and blind people. It's hit-and-miss but watching Belo's impassioned plea to stop the inhumane practice of grafting monkey arms on to humans is sickly amusing. Come on, it's 'armless fun.

Carol Carter and Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Metro, 14th August 2013