Harry Enfield

There were more laughs in The Windsors than there were in the frankly bizarre Flowers. The Windsors comes from team behind the long-forgotten Star Stories and imagines the royal family as the stars of a Dallas-style soap opera. Obviously some of the jokes are quite obvious such as everybody fawning over Pippa Middleton's arse and Fergie (Katy Wix) being a complete embarrassment to the entire royal family. However there were some gems among the myriad of gags most notably the Middletons gypsy heritage which Kate (Louise Ford) is still proud of to this day. The bizarre soapy elements of The Windsors also lend a sense of ridiculousness to the show which is keen to demonstrate the fact it doesn't take itself too seriously. The main thrust of the plot is that Charles and Camilla (Harry Enfield and Haydn Gwynne) are worried that the line of succession is going to skip a generation as Wills and Kate are much more popular than they are. Camilla's plot to take down Kate by getting her to dress as a pirate during a military amputee ball was an inspired gag as is the central plot thread of the Duchess of Cornwall attempting to have another child. Other highlights included Harry (Richard Goulding) not being able to differentiate between the many blondes he's been linked to and Wills' (Hugh Skinner) need to become a helicopter pilot again. But my favourite characters was the frankly clueless sisters Beatrice and Eugenie (Ellie White and Celeste Dring) who attempted to start an online make-up tips business to make some much needed cash. Although The Windsors didn't always hang together it did a good job at both creating larger-than-life versions of our royal family and at the same time staying true to its soap opera spoof style. The majority of the cast looked like they were having a good time and I was particularly fond of W1A's Hugh Skinner's performance as the affable William who tried to balance his duty with his love of flying. In fact the only person who slightly spoiled the show for me was Morgana Robinson who, despite being a fine impressionist, was a bit out of place here in her role as Pippa Middleton. While nobody should go into The Windsors expecting the next big comedy hit it's good to have a bit of satirical fun on the box once in a while. Additionally I feel that Channel Four have definitely made the right decision by putting it on on a Friday

The Windsors, Channel 4, review

There's some mildly subversive satire in there if you look hard enough.

Super-silly sitcom about the royal family from the creators of Star Stories, Bert Tyler Moore and George Jeffrie. The gags bang and whoosh like a New Year's Eve fireworks display and W1A's Hugh Skinner is outstanding (and somehow even posher than before) as Prince William, backed up nicely by Harry Enfield as a mildly demented Prince Charles and Haydn Gwynne as a conniving Camilla. The result is quite joyfully daft throughout. Knighthoods all round.

I enjoy a cruel joke as much as the next person, particularly when it's aimed at the Establishment, but even I flinched at some of the gags in this new sitcom which mercilessly mocks the Royals. I may have flinched but it didn't stop me laughing, and it's surely a measure of brave satire if you feel a twinge of discomfort.

A furious Camilla wonders why Wills and Kate grab all the attention. Seeing yet another fawning headline she rages that "the Great British scum" will want to skip Charles and have William crowned instead. If only she could have a baby, she thinks, and upset the line of succession. But Charles, played by Harry Enfield, reminds her she's "not had a period since Wham! split up." Elsewhere, a tipsy Fergie gets mistaken for Mick Hucknall and we learn Kate is actually a Gypsy who used to battle Rottweilers in a Morrison's car park.

The jokes might be distasteful, but this is satire and the attacks are aimed at a family who're secure and pampered. They can take it, I'm sure. If not, they can always give up and get a real job.

Review: The Windsors

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