John Nettles

Radio Times review

Pompous actor Steven Toast's nemesis, Ray Purchase, has ratted him out to The Tax People, so he owes £250,000 and he needs to find work, fast.

But suitable jobs are thin on the ground. Even John Midsomer Murders Nettles and has resorted to poaching to make ends meet. (Yes, that really is the John Nettles in a guest cameo).

In desperation, Toast's magnificently raddled agent, Jane Plough (Doon Mackichan) suggests that her client might like to direct a stage version of Calendar Girls.

Matt Berry as Toast is at his glorious best when he launches into tirades of scene-chewing pomposity. His outrageous treatment of the Calendar Girls women ("I intend to treat these people like cattle") will make your eyes water.

This slice of theatrical in-jokery, written by actors Catherine McCormack and Laura Power, takes a caustic glance at the hardcore fans who hang around stage doors waiting for their idols. There's a brace of women so stung by John Nettles they're on a restraining order and a Suranne Jones devotee who handcrafts mad gifts.

The terrific Alex MacQueen excels as one of those fans who lurk outside theatres hoping for an autograph or a glimpse of an actor. MacQueen plays a video shop manager who lies in wait to give (very) critical notes to stage performers. The others are wacky and unbelievable: two women who aren't allowed within 50ft of John Nettles, and a man who's hand-made a ludicrous gift for Suranne Jones. It's written by actors Catherine McCormack and Laura Power, with perhaps a smidgen of contempt.

For those who find Green Green Grass too edgy, this inoffensive sitcom is back for a second series. Caroline Quentin plays Maddy, a hassled mother who lives with her second husband Jim and their respective children. Jim is played by Neil Dudgeon, who will be taking over the lead role in Midsomer Murders next year when John Nettles leaves. He'll find the killing fields of Midsomer positively soporific next to the frantic pace of the Riley household, where gags come thick and fast on the minutiae of family life.

A top-notch Gavin & Stacey episode is a beautiful thing. It bathes you in a warm glow, thanks to its lovingly rendered quirks of family life - having a "messy drawer" or making an omelette with yesterday's beef - even as it folds you up with laughter. Tonight's plot is nothing fancy. There always needs to be an excuse to bring the Barry Island folk and the Billericayites together, and in this case it's a gathering planned at Mick and Pam's for a golf and spa weekend (for which we welcome back the beloved/dreadful Pete and Dawn). But before that gets going there's a Friday-night curry, the ordering of which takes about half the episode ("Gav - will you laugh at me if I have a korma?" etc). It's not just a nice riff on a modern ritual, it turns out to be about something else - why Nessa and Smithy belong together. Along the way there's a fine scene where Bryn puts on a fake job interview for Stacey, a hilarious passing reference to John Nettles, and Smithy's loving re-creation of a Kanye West rap, performed with his sister in a car park - and down the phone to Gavlahh. It's brilliant.

Here's a welcome repeat from 2004, reminding us that Les Dawson, with his hangdog looks and bleak routines, was one of Britain's greatest comics. His diaries reveal his secret love of literature, but they are also shot through with doubt and disappointment, fear and insecurity. In many ways, Dawson's story is typical of so many comedians, who are tortured souls desperate to be taken seriously. But it's not all bleakness, for there are some sublimely funny moments. John Nettles and Jack Dee are among the contributors.