Gerald Scarfe

Yes Minister: political comedy MPs voted the greatest

The consummate political satire might be about to celebrate its 40th anniversary but, in many ways, it has barely aged at all.

EU referendum: cartoonist Gerald Scarfe sketches Brexit

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe joined the BBC's Nick Robinson to sketch some politicians post-Brexit. He said "Farage is wonderful material", while portraying David Cameron[ as a pear.

Gerald Scarfe on how he loved to loathe Thatcher

Satirical cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, famed for his often grotesque depictions of the late Margaret Thatcher, recalls lampooning her on a weekly basis during her heyday, and also that - despite loathing her politics - he misses her.

Scarfe returns to make new Yes, Prime Minister titles

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe has produced a set of illustrations for the brand new series of Yes, Prime Minister.

There appears to be an unwritten rule when it comes to animation in the UK that unless it's by Aardman, it'll be rubbish. Full English seems to obey this rule, which may explain why Channel 4 is airing it at 22.50.

The other reason of course being the crudeness of the humour. It's been described as the British Family Guy by some critics, which brings us to another unwritten rule on animation: if a British comedy's marketed as the British version of a successful American comedy, the British comedy will be rubbish in comparison. Again, Full English conforms.

The series centres on a "typical""British suburban family; put-upon father Edgar (Richard Ayoade), emo daughter Eve (Daisy Haggard), and horrid superrich father-in-law Ken (Oliver Maltman) who has an imaginary, gigantic, green friend called Squidge.

Full English doesn't seem to have one big problem but lots of little ones. The animation by Alex Scarfe (son of Gerald Scarfe) is very poor in terms of quality. The characters seem one dimensional (as opposed to their 2D visual portrayals).

But for me the worst is its attempts at satire. The plot of the first episode sees Eve go on Britain's Got Talent with her band, failing, but getting back on by pretending her parents are dead. How original. It's all the same, with Simon Cowell being a vicious git, contestants doing freakishly horrid acts, and others playing the sympathy vote. It's all been done before.

I'll concede there were some moments of laughter, mainly the more violent cartoonish sequences - like Squidge's attempts to hang himself, or the eldest son of the family hiding under the car, only to get badly hurt because he's so fat he gets terrible friction off the road as the car moves. But other than that I think that Full English hasn't got much going for it.

This new cartoon series is Britain's answer to ]Family Guy.But if it looks slickly American that's because, although it was created by brothers Jack and Harry Williams and Alex Scarfe - son of cartoonist Gerald Scarfe and Jane Asher - the animation was done in LA at the studio responsible for Futurama, and The Simpsons Movie.

Be warned that Full English isn't for kids. It features animated sex plus some stuff about Nazis and disabled people that is offensive in ways I haven't even worked out yet. And one character's pursuit of The Queen could well spark another royal scandal. Simon Cowell probably won't be a fan either.

The voice work is by Richard Ayoade as dad Edgar, Rosie Cavaliero as wife Wendy and Fonejacker's Kayvan Novak as both of their sons.

The standout tonight is daughter Eve (voiced by Daisy Haggard), who auditions for Britain's Got Talent with hilariously predictable results. I'm not sure about the father-in-law and his imaginary friend, though. Is Britain ready for a large green balloon?

Video: Gerald Scarfe pays tribute to Ronald Searle

British cartoonist Ronald Searle, best known for creating the fictional girls' school St. Trinian's, has died aged 91. Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe paid tribute to Searle, whom he described as his "hero". Scarfe said Searle "could draw beautifully" but he added that Searle's most famous creations were a "millstone around his neck".

Video - Meet the Author: Gerald Scarfe

As part of the BBC News Meet The Author interviews, cartoonist Gerald Scarfe welcomes Nick Higham into his London studios.

He discusses his role in turning Pink Floyd's classic concept album The Wall into an animated feature film, the subject of his latest book.