Hugh Dennis

Now in their 21st year, the British Comedy Awards have long served as a bellwether for the state of British comedy, from the quirky satire of the early 1990s, through the energetic sketch shows of the mid- to late-90s, to the recent success of family-friendly stand-up comics like Peter Kay, Michael McIntyre and John Bishop. Thanks to a sharp host, a ready supply of funny clips and a suitably witty audience, they've also been one of the few live awards ceremonies actually worth watching.

Tonight's event is hosted live by Jonathan Ross. Leading the nominees is Miranda Hart, who is up for four awards, while Harry Hill gets three nods. Hart, last year's Queen of Comedy winner, is up for the award again, with David Mitchell, Telegraph agony uncle Graham Norton, Jack Whitehall, Jo Brand and Sarah Millican also in the running. Tamsin Greig and Tom Rosenthal are nominated for best TV comedy actress and best comedy breakthrough artist respectively for their roles in Friday Night Dinner, while Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner have been singled out for their contribution to Outnumbered. Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville receives a nomination for his role in the Olympic comedy Twenty Twelve.

The irrepressible Ricky Tomlinson, best known for The Royle Family, introduces clips from festive editions of classic sitcoms, from Rising Damp to Blackadder. The likes of Hugh Dennis and Miranda Hart discuss what it takes to make the perfect Christmas special. Meanwhile, cast members revisit memorable locations used in One Foot in the Grave, Gavin & Stacey, Father Ted and The Vicar of Dibley.

This semi-improvised comedy continues to assert itself as top dog of British comedies, delivering more laughs per minute than perhaps any home-grown sitcom of the past decade. A bold claim, perhaps, but week after week Outnumbered brilliantly captures the essence of family life today, in which a generation of middle-class parents are in thrall to their bossy children. We all know a Sue or a Pete (Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis), who tie themselves in knots trying to do right by their impossible offspring.

The programme also packs in a remarkable number of throwaway jokes. Tonight, for example, Pete is late home from work. "Passenger action on the trains," he says. "I think they were lynching the driver." And the children's quirky interpretations of the world are impressively relevant. The flights of fancy from Karen (Ramona Marquez) tend to be the funniest, thanks to the juxtaposition of solemn observation and her adorable voice. Tonight, when Karen is quizzing her mother on terrorism, Sue mentions that when she was young, the terrorism threat came from Ireland. "The Irish? Are you sure?" squeaks Karen. "You mean people like Graham Norton and Jedward?"

It's eerily quiet in the Brockman household. Karen's staying overnight with her fashion-mad friend Tanya, pretending to be the new Gok Wan; Ben's terrorising the other kids and their teacher at an activity camp; while Jake's out with his band mates, doing whatever teenage boys do. "It's not natural!" whimpers Sue, visualising how empty life will be when it's just her and Pete. Even the prospect that they could have sex during the day isn't helping.

Except that they're not completely alone. Archie is staying with them and although he doesn't argue or answer back or ask impossible questions as the kids do (after all, he is a dog), he's a bit of a comedy star, acting as a wonderfully doleful, four-legged straight man to Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner.

Pete (Hugh Dennis) and Sue (Claire Skinner) are left home alone when the Brockman children go their various ways for the weekend: Ben to an adventure camp where he takes pride in terrorising the teacher; Karen, who has written UGG on the side of her boots, to her fashion-mad friend Tanya's house; and Jake is out jamming with his bandmates. With all that spare time on their hands, the pair get a taste of what life will be like with an empty nest.

This topical panel show can always be guaranteed to provide a few belly laughs.

And unlike Have I Got News for You, it doesn't matter if you've been hiding under a rock for the past week and haven't got a clue what's been going on in the world.

The topical bit is used loosely. Instead it's more an excuse for stand-up comedians to show their wares, with Dara O Briain at the helm.

Joining show regulars Hugh Dennis, Andy Parsons and Chris Addison is my own personal favourite stand-up, Micky Flanagan, up-and-coming comic Nathan Caton and Canada's king of the one-liners Stewart Francis (if you love your comedy, you'll recognise him from an episode of Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow - he was the guy who opened with: "Don't worry, I haven't heard of you either").

Considering the show's format, which is just made for killer one-liners, tonight's episode promises to be even funnier than normal.

Now back for its fourth series, the main question concerning Outnumbered is, 'Is it still funny after all this time?' The answer would appear to be 'Yes' - mind you, the fact that the first episode went out after My Family probably helped.

Eldest son Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey) is getting into a stage of typical teenage stroppiness, rallying against other members of the family and their attitudes, such as his mother Sue's (Claire Skinner) views of gay stereotypes; troublesome Ben (Daniel Roche) is refusing to wear his Wii safety cord and is under the belief that Jeremy Clarkson is gay; and curious Karen (Ramona Marquez) has an idea for stopping people stealing mobile phones by using bubonic plague.

The parents also have their own trouble, with father Pete (Hugh Dennis) quitting his job as a history teacher over a point of principle (and seemingly his own stupidity) and now working as a supply teacher, meaning Sue is working full time - and Karen is not happy about that. Pete is also having trouble with a eulogy at the funeral of his late gay uncle, which Sue finds amousing.

Outnumbered is still one of the best sitcoms around as far as I'm concerned. The semi-improvisation with the children is a joy to watch, especially when it comes to Karen. Let's hope it continues to keep the pace up.

Weird, isn't it, that on the same night that My Family, BBC1's old-style sitcom about the comic domestic trials of the middle-class Harper family, quietly shuffles off TV's mortal coil the new series of Outnumbered, BBC1's semi-improvisational and much more realistic domestic comedy about the middle-class Brockman family, starts a new series.

Over the previous three series the show's young stars have honed their adult-baiting antics to perfection, while the weary, defeated or bemused expressions on the faces of Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis ring ever more true. The family are attending Uncle Bob's funeral in this episode. "The important thing to remember is that it's not a sad day," Sue tries to tell Karen, who very reasonably retorts, "Well, it is for Uncle Bob." Ben, meanwhile, insists he's been to a cremation before - except Pete points out that it was actually a hog roast. Not surprisingly, the vicar (John Sessions) wishes they'd never come.

Just in time to replace My Family, the popular sitcom about the chaotic Brockman family returns for its fourth series. This opening episode sees a family funeral, so parents Pete and Sue (the suitably beleaguered Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner) must decide which of their unruly brood to take along. John Sessions pops up in an amusing cameo as the vicar. It might be lighter on laughs than a truly top-drawer sitcom, but it's charming stuff and you can see why it wins awards, mainly thanks to the children's semi-improvised performances.