Graham Linehan

Steve Delaney and Graham Linehan's old-school comedy must surely be given a third series, and ought to be slap bang in primetime. This run has edged diffidently towards greatness, with several moments where plot and character have meshed to make something sublime. The finale has bittersweet jeopardy as Michael (Rory Kinnear), a sitcom character who isn't trapped, considers leaving, while Arthur (Delaney) finds success as an unorthodox TV psychic. The transitions from stupid to serious are remarkably deft.

Radio Times review

If you've ever wondered how to deal with a cold caller, the unquenchable Count Arthur Strong may give you an idea or two. That phone call opens an emotional rollercoaster finale, crammed with lovely gags, sad scenes and cockle-warming surprises.

It's breakthrough time for both Arthur and Michael (genius double act Steve Delaney and Rory Kinnear), but while the Count becomes increasingly bumptious over his new-found TV fame, Michael is just a walking knot of anxiety when Hollywood beckons.

If this series is now out for the Count, it exits on a delirious high. Delaney and co-writer Graham Linehan originally said they wanted to make a sitcom with a heart. They have triumphed resoundingly.

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Rather changed from its fractionally classier initial proposition, this is now pure mainstream sitcom, circa 1985. If anyone excels in making that kind of thing entertaining, however, it's Graham Linehan (who co-writes here). Tonight's episode finds Arthur turning over memories of his life as a gang member "with a chip on my shoulder the size of a family caravan", and his lost love, Eileen. All of which in a roundabout way finds him taking a flying lesson. Arthur's inability to understand that the clocks go back brings things to a chaotic end.

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Ahead of series two's launch, Digital Spy spoke to the sitcom's co-writer - BAFTA winner Graham Linehan - about the new episodes, the demise of TV criticism and why the studio sitcom is due a comeback.