Hannah Britland

The basic conceit of one-off comedy drama A Gert Lush Christmas was Meet the Parents as Howard's Dan introduced his girlfriend Lisa (Hannah Britland) to his oddball Bristolian family. They included his inappropriate mother Sue (Sophie Thompson), his foul-mouthed father Dave (Neil Morrissey), his drug-taking Uncle Tony (Greg Davies) and his excitable sister Julie (played by Russell's real life sister Kerry). The first twenty or so minutes of A Gert Lush Christmas pulled out almost every awkward family cliché including the womenfolk talking about marriage way too fast and later Dan and Lisa listening to his parents have sex. However, primarily due to the quality of the cast, these scenes were quite well presented and I found myself laughing several times. Where the piece fell down for me was the inevitable moment when Dan's family briefly caused he and Lisa's separation when Uncle Tony spiked his nephew's drink which somehow made him kiss one of his ex-girlfriends. The scenes in which Dan tried to win Lisa back were very weak indeed as was their eventual reconciliation which was framed around a child's magic trick. I do feel a lot of the blame for what went wrong aboutA Gert Lush Christmas can be attributed to Russell Howard's one-note performance as well as he and Williams' poorly paced script. It's quite evident that Howard can't act to save his life and throughout the hour I just felt I was watching the host of Good News visiting his eccentric family. Howard never once made Dan sympathetic and as a result I found myself feeling sorry for his rather sweet-natured if off-beat family. Although there were plus points, namely the turns given by Sophie Thompson and Kerry Howard, ultimately A Gert Lush Christmas fell flat for me which was a shame as it was one of this year's festive highlights that I was looking forward to the most.

Matt, The Custard TV, 27th December 2015

Channel 4 also brought us an enjoyable new sitcom in the form of the awfully-titled but quite funny Scrotal Recall. The comedy's central conceit sees likeable Dylan (Johnny Flynn) forced to contact all of his former sexual conquests after being diagnosed with chlamydia. Dylan then draws up a list of his exes, in alphabetical order, as he prepares to give them the news one-by-one. The majority of the episode is then told in flashback as we learn about how he met the first girl on the list, hotel desk clerk Abigail (Hannah Britland), whilst at a wedding with another woman. The awkward wedding reception is a scenario that has been played out time and time again in sitcoms, but I felt that Scrotal Recall did a good job at keeping the story feeling fresh. This first episode also introduced us to Dylan's friend Luke (Daniel Ings); a sexual predator with no morals who basically attempts to bed as many bridesmaids as possible. At times I found Luke to be too similar to How I Met Your Mother's Barney to believe in him as a realistic character but at the same time he did provide a lot of the best gags. Writer Tom Edge also adds quite a sweet element to the sitcom in the unrequited feelings that Dylan's friend Evie (Antonia Thomas) has for him. Although this part of the plot could come off as clichéd; Edge meshes both elements of the comedy well enough for it never to feel too saccharine. As the majority of the sitcom happens three years in the past, I was shocked to discover that in the present Evie is engaged to another man whilst Dylan is left looking forlorn during her engagement party. Although I didn't have massive expectations going into Scrotal Recall I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and I laughed out loud at least four times during the twenty or so minute run time. Flynn and Thomas are likeable leads whilst Ings brings a larger-than-life persona to the despicable Luke. All-in-all I thought Scrotal Recall showed bags of potential and I'll definitely be tuning in next week for episode two.

The Custard TV, 5th October 2014

After it became one of my favourite programmes of last year, I was a little disappointed by the first episode of this series of Fresh Meat. I personally felt that there was far too much of a focus on JP, who's need to find a sexual partner made the character feel fairly one-dimensional. Additionally, Josie and Kingsley's relationship woes seem a little tired and I'm a bit fed up of this story that's been continuing since series one.

Luckily, the character of Howard seems to be heading in a new direction after finding a potential partner in the attractive Sam (Hannah Britland).

Once again, it was up to Zawe Ashton to provide the laughs as Vod's lost in translation romance was the highlight of the episode for me. The introduction of a new housemate, the home-schooled Candice (Faye Marsay), offered up some new comic possibilities and it seemed she'd been fully integrated into the group by the end of the first episode after being introduced to the wonders of cocaine by Vod.

While this first episode may not have been of the quality that I expect from Fresh Meat, it was still head and shoulders above most of the comedies that TV has offered us this year.

The Custard TV, 10th November 2013