Iwan Rheon

A little light relief was on hand from a new series of Misfits, the tale of five teenagers on community service who are getting to grips with the superpowers given to them by a freak electrical storm. Nathan - whose gift of immortality was only revealed to us and him at the end of season one, when he woke up in coffin - was overheard obtaining a little manual relief by Kelly (who can read minds that are six feet underground if the - um - expression is intense enough) and unearthed. This was to the great relief of claustrophobics, if not to the rest of the group who do, after all, now have to deal with him again. If there's one thing cockier than Nathan, it's an immortal Nathan.

After that, things pelted along at an exhilarating pace. There's a shapeshifter, a shadowy watcher, a new probation officer vying with the kids for the 2010 Disaffection Award, a light sprinkling of sex and drugs and, by the end, a couple of dead bodies. Misfits still has its revivifying mix of wit and energy, along with a measure of grittiness that keeps it from spinning off into Heroes-like cartoonishness or Skins-like smugness. The cast are all excellent, but Lauren Socha's Kelly is a perfect portrait of a genuinely unhappy teenager, an endlessly, magnificently pulsing mass of insecurities and hostility. Iwan Rheon as Simon breaks your heart even as he's pulling murdered probation officers out of the freezer - a misfit even among misfits. Bold and brilliant stuff.

Video: Misfits interview

An interview with Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Iwan Rheon and Antonia Thomas.

Misfits' Iwan Rheon interview

Asbo superhero drama Misfits returns to our screens tomorrow with its blend of sci-fi and sink estate intact. Metro speaks to star Iwan Rheon and writer Howard Overman.

For those patient enough to stick with the first episodes, this is where Simon Amstell's sitcom starts to get good, for two reasons. Firstly, either Amstell has relaxed or an increased familiarity with his awkward on-screen persona means it doesn't jar quite so much. And secondly, it's darker, and with that, far funnier. Simon's grandad has cancer, his mum is doing impressions of Will Young, Pam Ferris pops up, and there's an excruciating love interest in the form of Misfits' Simon, AKA Iwan Rheon. It's worth another shot if you gave up early on.

Misfits episode 5 review

What an asset Iwan Rheon is to this show in the role of Simon, who could so easily have been featured as a straightforward geek but has instead turned into a subtle and credible hero for all those young people who are kind-hearted and full of passion but just a bit removed from things, constantly struggling against that spiteful tag 'weird'.

As the excellent Misfits (E4) reaches what looks certain to be a bloody conclusion, a star is surely born in Iwan Rheon, whose turn as spooky-eyed Simon is stealing the show. Looking like Gavin of Gavin & Stacey crossed with Damian Omen Three, Rheon was heart-breaking as a buttoned-up social outcast who falls for the overtures of his probation officer. When he twigged that she was only using him to prise the murderous truth out of the plot, you could see his heart shatter. So her Paranormal Activity fate was absolutely deserved.

Still matching the comic twists and invention of the opening episodes, this tale of five misfits with strange powers remains one of the year's best comedies on E4. As Sally (Alex Reid) tries to prove the gang is responsible for the disappearance of Tony, she focuses on Simon (Iwan Rheon) but he misreads her interest in him. Also, Curtis (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) tries to end things with Sam.

Interview: the cast of Misfits

Antonia Thomas (Alisha), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Curtis) and Iwan Rheon (Simon) talk about Misfits.

As the Asbo adolescents grapple with their superpowers of varying usefulness (invisibility, mindreading... making people bald), the boredom of sorting donated clothes for Africa is soon forgotten when the two bodies they buried look set to be unearthed by construction workers. If The Breakfast Club were thrown in a blender with Being Human, you might end up with Misfits. It's bleak and edgy, with the mischief and musical nous of Skins, and its peppy cast are, you feel, destined for bigger things, especially Mathew Horne-alike Iwan Rheon.