Helen McCrory

Radio Times review

The last and nastiest visit to the ninth house on the left, which this episode is a looming, draughty pile out of place on a suburban street. Aimeé-Ffion Edwards, as excellent here as she was in Skin and Walking and Talking, is a schoolgirl babysitter who's been promised a bumper payday but immediately finds that the job, set by icy householder Helen McCrory, is too creepy to be worth the cash.

To say more would spoil, but as the creaking terror takes hold you'll marvel at how Steve Pemberton (absent) and Reece Shearsmith (in full Hammer horror mode) can pepper the elegant script with gags without breaking the spell.

Inside No. 9, BBC2's dark comedy thriller series from half a League of Gents, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, who were also behind Psychoville, has been a critical hit but has not excelled in the ratings. Episodes have attracted a not-so-thrilling average of 800,000 viewers, but fans of the tales with a twist will be relieved to hear that a sequel has been commissioned. The decision was taken before the series was broadcast - if the number-crunchers had seen the figures maybe they would have had second thoughts. Catch the final edition, The Harrowing, with Helen McCrory guesting, on Wednesday.

Comedy doesn't come blacker than this. Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith cut loose in their series-concluding episode and produce a chilling half-hour that really is best avoided by those of a nervous disposition, as the announcers used to say. Schoolgirl Katy (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) arrives to babysit at a gothic mansion where there is no mobile phone signal, no heating and as it turns out, no baby. Hector (Shearsmith) and Tabitha (Helen McCrory) are the spooky siblings asking here to look after the place, which is also home to their infirm brother upstairs.

Its hard to know which to admire more - the rich and perverse imaginations of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, or the range of acting talents that has brought this strange and memorable series to life. The final episode is also the most Gothic. A sensible young woman goes to babysit in a refrigerated mansion while its owners, a most unusual brother and sister played by Shearsmith and Helen McCrory, are called away on an urgent matter. Upstairs lurks a bedridden brother who was born inside out. The story is called The Harrowing, named after Christ's descent into Hell to free imprisoned spirits. Babysitting doesn't get tougher than this.

Helen McCrory on preparing for Tommy Cooper drama

Helen McCrory has been sharpening her comic timing to portray the other woman in the life of comedy legend Tommy Cooper.

Welcome to Blandings Castle, home of the Earl of Emsworth and the sublimely eccentric setting for some of PG Wodehouse's best-loved comic novels. Something Fresh is the first Blandings tale and has been recreated for the radio at the request of the Wodehouse estate by Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres.

The absent-minded Earl has accidently pocketed a priceless gem from a wealthy American, who happens to be the father of the girl this hapless son is set to marry. This is but one of the many coincidences that turn this comic-thriller-cum-romance into a joyous, laugh-out-loud romp through upstairs and downstairs life.

The cast list is as starry as they get: Ioan Gruffudd, Helen McCrory and Jared Harris are just some of the names. But special mention must go to director Martin Jarvis who turns in a delightfully batty performance as Emsworth. An absolute pleasure.

In Something Fresh The Classic Serial makes a welcome return to the world of PG Wodehouse. We're at Blandings Castle where Lord Emsworth (Martin Jarvis) has in his possession a valuable scarab which two rogues, played by Ioan Gruffudd and Helen McCrory, are after. Wonderful cast altogether, with Morgan Sheppard as Beach the butler and Ian Ogilvy as the voice of Wodehouse.