Graham Linehan

Over on BBC Four things were uplifting, thanks to The Walshes - a new sitcom from Graham Linehan, co-written with comedy troupe Diet of Worms, the latter playing the members of the eponymous Dublin family. It's not the subtlest piece of work you'll ever see (dad Tony, under erroneous impression that daughter Keira's new boyfriend is a doctor, shows him his "small anal event - like a rubbery M&M behind me scrotum!") but there are lovely touches. Mother Carmel's "demented fridge". Neighbour Mike who appears quietly at intervals from behind the latest banjaxed Walsh appliance. The "28A" affixed to Keira's door to make her feel like she's got her own flat. I laughed. At two points I nearly cried. Linehan et al are either geniuses or need to be burned as witches. I'll tune in next week to decide.

The Walshes, TV review

The jokes hit home in a family sitcom with a touch of Father Ted.

Father Ted, The IT Crowd, Count Arthur Strong - writer and director Graham Linehan has set the bar high with some TV comedy gems. So it's fingers crossed this new sitcom, charting the ups and downs of family life in Dublin, won't trip him up. As daughter Ciara ([p[Amy Stephenson]) invites her boyfriend to the Walsh house for the first time, her meddling mam (Philippa Dunnen, channelling Mrs Brown), practical joker dad (Niall Gaffney) and oddball brother (Rory Connolly, channelling Father Dougal) offer a unique welcome. There are just three episodes, so not much time for the characters to bed in, but if the Linehan spark ignites, it will be back for a full series.

Radio Times review

What's that, you say, a sitcom about an Irish family with an overbearing matriarch? Well, forget Mrs Brown's Boys, because writer Graham Linehan and Dublin comedy troupe Diet of Worms's take on the tropes of Irish family life is far more restrained.

We're introduced to the Walshes - "eejit" Dad (Niall Gaffney), smothering Mammy (Philippa Dunne), feckless son Rory (Rory Connolly) - as they prepare to invite desperate-to-flee-the-nest daughter Ciara's (Amy Stephenson) new, unassuming boyfriend Graham into their madhouse.

It's a traditional family sitcom full of comic misunderstandings, some wonderful moments of silliness and there's an affectionate charm in the playing, with Shane Langan particularly good as Graham - he has the look of a young Linehan about him.

Who are Diet of Worms?

Say hello to the Irish comedy troupe starring in Graham Linehan's new BBC Four sitcom The Walshes - by watching their best work on YouTube.

The Walshes marks new direction for Graham Linehan

Graham Linehan's new show steers away from the daft and broad work which made his name.

The Walshes interview

An interview with Diet of Worms. "It was very polite of Graham Linehan to humour us..."

Father Ted will never come back says Graham Linehan

Co-writer of the classic comedy set in Craggy Island has said that he will never revive the show.

Graham Linehan: The Walshes is no Mrs Brown's Boys

The Father Ted creator is hoping his new sitcom The Walshes will not be compared with Brendan O'Carroll's hit - and says he was "never really a big fan" of O'Carroll's work.

In an inspired piece of scheduling, Channel 4 bins the Come Dine With Me repeats and dedicates the whole of Christmas Eve to Graham Linehan's honkingly funny sitcom. Set in a terrifyingly realistic man cave in the basement of a dysfunctional London company it is, according to those who know their ethernet cables from their elbows, almost a documentary.

Surrounded by empty boxes, unopened manuals, stickers and plastic desk toys, Moss (Richard Ayoade) and Roy (Chris O'Dowd, before he was Bridesmaids famous) skive, snigger, talk about girls and tell anyone with an ailing computer to turn it off and on again. Noel Fielding lives in the cupboard. Their female boss knows nothing of these annoying computer thingies and is preoccupied with her car crash love life.

In honour of this festive extravaganza, fans have voted for their favourite episode and Linehan has nominated his. There is also a repeat of the final one-off show from earlier this year and a documentary featuring interviews with cast and A-list fans.