Isy Suttie

Talk about a sitcom whose time has come. Thanks to series like Hell's Kitchen, The Restaurant, Kitchen Nightmares and MasterChef, restaurant kitchens are now as familiar to us as the inside of our own fridges.

We know they're all run by shouting egomaniacs who hate vegetarians and love the sound of their own voices, so we need no further introduction to the world of Whites. Whites (as in chefs' whites, as opposed to Marco Pierre) is written by Oliver Lansley and Matt King - best known as the sublimely surreal Super Hans from Peep Show. It's based on King's own experiences working in a Michelin-starred restaurant and he also appears briefly in this episode as a delivery man. It's just a pity that he's not in it more.

It's hilariously well-observed but, because it isn't straining for belly laughs every single second, characters also have room to breathe and just be themselves.

Alan Davies is perfectly cast as head chef Roland White, (again, no relation to Marco) who is too busy to help out during service because he's dictating his memoirs. Sample, genius quote: "If God didn't want us to eat animals he wouldn't have made them out of meat."

White's put-upon sous chef Bib (Darren Boyd), who is left to soldier on alone, is initially delighted when Roland takes on an apprentice to help out. But his happiness quickly dissolves into panic when the newcomer, Skoose, turns out to be a borderline sociopath.

Also in the mix are The IT Crowd's Katherine Parkinson as front of house manager Caroline, the excellent Maggie Steed as eccentric hotel owner Claudia, and Peep Show's Isy Suttie as terminally thick waitress Kiki.

Watching this, you're reminded of why good chefs bang on about only using topquality ingredients. This recipe brings out the best in all of them.

He's a versatile man, is Alan Davies. He plays the fool in QI, a magician/detective in Jonathan Creek and has just relived his revolutionary teen years for documentary purposes. For this new sitcom he's in actorly mode again, playing a hotel head chef called Roland White - any relation to Marco Pierre? - who goes against the grain of the highly stressed Gordon Ramsays of this world by being a bit of a slacker. Also stars Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd) and Isy Suttie (Dobby from Peep Show).

Talking Shop: Isy Suttie

Musical comic Isy Suttie is best known for playing Mark's love interest, Dobby, in cult Channel 4 comedy Peep Show.

Talking love with Isy Suttie

Not content with invading (in the nicest possible way) our TV screens this autumn with Peep Show series 7 and Whites, Isy Suttie has a nice juicy run of shows at Soho Theatre.

Portrait of the artist: Isy Suttie, comedian

'I called a geeky-looking guy up on stage and he grabbed my left breast. It was horrible, but I carried on'.

Interview: Isy Suttie

The Peep Show star talks about missing Edinburgh, finding her feet as a musical comic and what that crazy David Mitchell gets up to when he's not filming...

Mark's (David Mitchell) impending fatherhood fast approaches in this sitcom about two hapless flatmates whose horrid luck provides consistent amusement for the rest of us. He and Jeremy (Robert Webb) decide to throw a party, each seeing it as an opportunity for romance. Jeremy tries to make his casual lover Elena (Vera Filatova) jealous. Mark, meanwhile, hopes to finally hook in his long-term object of infatuation, Dobby (Isy Suttie).

Into its sixth series, you feel that Peep Show could and should be with us for decades yet, like Last of the Summer Wine, only funny. This week, Mark trains his ever-desperate sights on the ever-wonderful Dobby (Isy Suttie) while Jeremy finds love with the entirely unsuitable Elena, a Russian lover of music and poetry. Sophie, however, appears when it's least convenient and spills the beans about her pregnancy. Long live the Croydon dystopia.

Hurrah for the return of the Bafta award-winning comedy about two socially inept flatmates. After last week's typically witty first episode in which Mark (David Mitchell) and Jeremy (Robert Webb) tried to avoid facing up to the fact that one of them is to become a father, Sophie (Olivia Coleman) finally reveals whose baby she's carrying. But both boys are more interested in pursuing their respective love interests: Mark makes a final play for IT worker Dobby (Isy Suttie) and Jeremy takes a shine to an arty Russian émigré.

Danny Robins' Music Therapy is a new show described as a sort of Top of the Tops meets Trisha. Here was an opportunity for Robins, along with guests Isy Suttie and beatbox champion Beardyman, to solve both listener and world problems through the therapeutic qualities of music. 'Think of me as a melodic Jeremy Kyle,' suggested Robins, but without 'the latent sense of evil'.

Some of the most amusing sections in this, the first of four programmes, occurred when Robins went out and about hoping to administer his particular style of musical medicine to hard done by members of the community. These included abused traffic wardens and fishmongers feeling the effect of the credit crunch - for the latter, Robins set himself up as an in-store DJ presenting Radio Fish Shop. Suttie's clever song 50 Ways to Sack Your Cleaner, aimed at middle-class housewives who could not bring themselves to let the 'help' go, was another highlight.

Robins' personable style and natural comic talent, paired with a good script, created some genuine laugh out loud moments.