Jo Brand

Beautifully bleak new series from Jo Brand and Morwenna Banks about the workings of a children's services department. It hits the ground running in this promising opener with Rose (Brand) stumbling across an old flame on a home visit, Al (Alan Davies), having woman trouble, and Nitin (Himesh Patel) meeting with HR. Isy Suttie, meanwhile, is the temp with a "cheeky sideline" selling hair putty. There's warmth in the comic one-liners, woven into realistic and grim situations.

This new comedy series is so obviously written by Jo Brand. Even without reading the blurb and the credits you'd be able to tell. Set in a social work department where they run a helpline for troubled service-users, the comedy slowly and subtly shows the petty tensions, frustrations and annoyances of office life, particularly when your tedious office work involves dealing with deeply troubled people.

It's similar - you might say identical - in tone to Brand's recent BBC sitcom, Going Forward, which was also about working in the harassed and undervalued caring sector. So there are no belly laughs. Just gentle little observations and quirks.

The most prominent thing is the cast list, a roll call of comedians like Brand, Alan Davies, Nick Hancock, Morwenna Banks and the furiously annoying Isy Suttie, who seemingly can play only one character, Dobby from Peep Show. And here she is, playing Dobby yet again!

Damned preview

The world, inspired by Brand's mother's lifetime career in social work, seems utterly genuine - thanks largely to that central friendship between Al and Rose, both robust characters with difficult lives and a dry sense of humour, which gives the show a warm heart.

Can Damned be fair to social workers - and funny?

Jo Brand and Alan Davies talk about the challenges of their new comedy.

Damned pulls off feat of being both funny & poignant

Jo Brand's new sitcom Damned stars herself and Alan Davies as overworked employees in a Children's Services department who employ black humour to help them get through each day

Damned preview

I can only imagine the delight Jo Brand felt when Damned was finally given the proper green light. And thank god it did, because the end result proves that Damned has all the ingredients for a long-running comedy.

TV preview: Damned, C4

Not wall-to-wall laughs but then it isn't meant to be because life isn't like that. But this is definitely a comedy. There are a lot more gags here than I've ever come across working in offices, some excellent performances and a cameo from rising star Aisling Bea. Looks good to me.

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New comedy Damned reveals the dark humour of working in the front lines of healthcare.