Press clippings Page 62
New comedy drama about a student house share from Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, the men who wrote Peep Show, and starring Kimberley Nixon (Cranford), Joe Thomas (Simon from The Inbetweeners) and Jack Whitehall (actually good at acting!). Don't be put off by the initial "youth" packaging: this is smart, sympathetic and pretty much adorable from the get-go. Lots of laughs, but the use of Waltz #2 by Elliott Smith at the end near breaks your heart. What an opener.
Julia Raeside, The Guardian, 21st September 2011Written by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, the creators of Peep Show, Channel 4's new comedy-drama about a student flat at the University of Manchester opens with a semi-naked man making grunting noises over some hanging meat, and the tone never quite rises afterwards.
But for viewers who aren't easily offended, Fresh Meat's script is sharp, the lead character Kingsley is a sympathetic figure blessed with the endearing habit of saying the wrong thing to women, and the Gap Yah public schoolboy is rather amusing, even if his language will horrify anyone over 30 (if they can understand half of what he's saying).
Fans of current comedy may recognise a couple of faces in the cast: Kingsley is played by Joe Thomas (best known as Simon, the melodramatic sap who moons endlessly over Carli in E4's The Inbetweeners) and JP, the Gap Yah public schoolboy, is played by Jack Whitehall, the stand-up comedian often seen on panel shows such as BBC Two's Mock the Week and Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats.
Ed West, The Telegraph, 20th September 2011There's nothing particularly, ah, fresh about Fresh Meat, but this new teen comedy drama has an inbuilt likability which ensures that it's instantly preferable to the likes of Skins.
Created by Peep Show overlords Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, it stars Joe Thomas from The Inbetweeners as a hapless first-year student sharing a house in Manchester with a gaggle of contrasting characters, including a quietly scene-stealing Greg McHugh (star of BBC Scotland's Gary: Tank Commander) and - this will take some swallowing, I know - hitherto useless comedian Jack Whitehall proving perfectly acceptable in his first acting role. Mind you, he's playing an objectionable posh twit, so it's hardly a stretch.
The distinctive fingerprints of Armstrong and Bain are all over the opening episode, which leans more towards comedy than drama, as the various misfits get to know each other while desperately trying to reinvent themselves.
Rather sweet at heart, it should be applauded for generally eschewing the puerility, moralising and self-conscious "edge" which usually blights this genre. And if all it achieves is in some way vaguely justifying the existence of Jack Whitehall, then that has to count for something. Doesn't it?
Paul Whitelaw, The Scotsman, 19th September 2011Jack Whitehall and dad appear on Million Pound Drop
Jack Whitehall and his theatrical agent father Michael will play The Million Pound Drop Live in the hopes of winning big for their chosen charities.
Channel 4, 19th September 2011Peep Show creators go back to college for Fresh Meat
Jack Whitehall, Greg McHugh and The Inbetweeners' Joe Thomas are among the stars of Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong's new C4 university-set comedy.
Julia Raeside, The Guardian, 17th September 2011I really don't know what they're giving panellists before they go on this show.
The start of series five dissolves into a puddle of infectious hysteria that has more than one of the cast absolutely weeping with laughter.
I blame The Apprentice's Nick Hewer, who kicks off proceedings with a wonderfully straight-faced tale of how he and Lord Sugar like to relax after a tough day's filming in the boardroom.
He's a very welcome addition to the line-up, proving that you don't have to be a professional stand-up to get big laughs on this show.
Team captains Lee Mack and David Mitchell are also joined this week by Jack Whitehall and Rebecca Front as well as Miranda Hart.
The latter is reduced to helpless tears of mirth by her own very unlikely sounding tale about trying out for QPR's women's football team. But it's host Rob Brydon's own demonstration of a cuddle jumper that really brings the house down.
While much of Would I Lie To You? would work almost as well on radio, the cuddle jumper is an item of clothing which absolutely must be seen to be fully enjoyed.
A perfect blend of innocent silliness and razor-sharp wit, Would I Lie To You? is still the perfect way to wind down for the weekend.
And this might just be the funniest episode ever.
Jane Simon, The Mirror, 9th September 2011Jack Whitehall asked for drug scenes to be changed
Drug shame comic Jack Whitehall begged producers of his new comedy to change his character's scenes - after one showed him with cocaine in a toilet.
Jen Blackburn, The Sun, 2nd September 2011Edinburgh festival 2011: Jack Whitehall... and his dad
Rising comedy star Jack Whitehall is dragging his 'ranting lunatic' father onstage for a series of shows at Edinburgh Festival 2011. They talk to Dominic Cavendish.
Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph, 8th August 2011Jack Whitehall takes to the road in new stand-up series
Channel 4 has ordered a series of Hit The Road, Jack, a new stand-up format for comedian Jack Whitehall.
British Comedy Guide, 4th August 2011'The new Inbetweeners' stars Jack Whitehall as student
Fresh Meat, starring Jack Whitehall and Joe Thomas and created by the makers of Peep Show, is being hailed as a university version of hit comedy The Inbetweeners.
Rachel Tarley, Metro, 3rd August 2011