Jo Joyner

There's plenty of slapstick, too: Benton does it well, stumbling over his own feet and mugging madly when he doesn't have a line. Fans of Midsomer Murders will settle in straight away and, with so many grim, grinding crime dramas clogging up the evening schedules, it's worth setting the recorder for this one.

Series two, and scatty magistrate Marley (Sarah Alexander) still hasn't got the hang of other people not being able to see her unhelpful undead companions (John Hannah, Jo Joyner and Nicholas Burns). When she's not arguing with them in public and looking mad, they're pushing her into genteel farce, this week involving the stuffy local residents association. A nicely made sitcom with an enviable cast, although the awkward premise is a ball and chain.

Jo Joyner joins Mount Pleasant

As filming is due to start on the sixth series of Mount Pleasant, it has been announced that Jo Joyner is joining the cast.

In a Christmas instalment of Alan Davies's rambling chatshow - the guests just talk at random, the title of the show being decided at the end; so "Christmas" is perhaps a strong contender this time around - the Reverend Richard Coles, EastEnder Jo Joyner and comedians Jason Manford and Joe Lycett get together at the round table. There is talk of donning Santa outfits, chimney fires, having a curry on Christmas Day and a wonderful story about Brian Blessed. But then, aren't they all?

Episode two of the spectral sitcom that has more than a hint of Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased) about it. Frazzled magistrate Sarah Alexander remains actively haunted by three recently deceased spirits: her slobbish husband John Hannah, uptight work colleague and lover Nicholas Burns, and daffy local vicar Jo Joyner. While she considers exorcism to retain her sanity, a break-in unexpectedly brings her haunters together. The high concept doesn't feel like it has quite bedded in, but the cast are game and there's a good Transporter 2 joke.

Marley's Ghosts which was of a number of original sitcoms that are to be produced by the repeat-heavy network GOLD. Unlike the Sky and NBC collaboration, Marley's Ghosts is an awfully traditional affair albeit one with a far-fetched plot line in which magistrate Marley (Sarah Alexander) finds herself plagued by a plethora of undead faces from her past. The craziness begins when Marley's drunken husband Adam (John Hannah) dies after choking on a chicken bone. When his ghost reappears at his own funeral, Marley starts conversing with him much to the chagrin of her colleague and lover Michael (Nicholas Burns). Michael's fury at Marley's situation leads him to be hit by the car of the inept local vicar (Jo Joyner) with both eventually dying and joining Adam as ghosts only Marley can see. It's clear to see that writer Daniel Peacock has primarily written for children's TV up to this point as Marley's Ghosts has a rather juvenile streak running throughout it. A lot of the jokes are quite obvious however I have to admit that I did chuckle quite a few times especially at a recurring gag involving a pair of randy pensioners. Despite a loopy premise and some corny gags, Marley's Ghosts was strangely watchable thanks primarily to its game cast. I particularly thought that John Hannah gave a better performance than the show deserved as Marley's depressed husband who realised the error of his ways after his death. Similarly impressive was Jo Joyner who gave one of her best post-Eastenders turns to date and she seemed to be having a whale of time as the kooky vicar. While Marley's Ghosts isn't going to win any points for originality it does give me hope that the people at GOLD know what they're doing when it comes to producing original content and I'm looking forward to what they have to offer in the future.

Even though I don't believe in ghosts whatsoever, I've placed this to one side for this new comedy, where Sarah Alexander is Marley, whose husband, lover, and vicar all kark it in varying degrees of amusingness, and then return to haunt her. John Hannah, Nicholas Burns, and Jo Joyner all torment Alexander in a really annoying and intrusive manner, a set of supernatural pests who exasperate Marley more than frighten her, their presence more like a summer ant infestation than the Amityville horror.

Video: Jo Joyner on donning a dog collar

Jo Joyner has admitted she felt a bit strange wearing a dog collar for her new role, but she loved playing a vicar in upcoming UKTV Gold comedy Marley's Ghosts.