Laurie Kynaston

Cradle to Grave was set in the 1970s as we watched the teenage exploits of a young Danny Baker as he attempted to navigate adolescence. Although this was essentially the story of the teenage Danny (played here by Laurie Kynaston) most of the screen time was eaten up by his father Spud (Peter Kay). Spud was written as the stereotypical sitcom patriarch who was always after the next scheme whether it be selling embalming fluid as Schnapps or stuffing his house full of continental quilts to sell to the neighbourhood. The problem with Spud's stories is that they tended not to fit into the rest of the episode meaning that Baker and co-writer Jeff Pope had to shoehorn them. In was this almost anecdotal narrative that spoilt Cradle to Grave for me as it felt like a sketch show about Baker's life rather than a pure half hour comedy episode. Attempts to tie all the stories together by incorporating a trip to the theatre to see 'Hair' didn't really work even though the musical scene itself did provide the episode's biggest laugh. The other issue I had with Cradle to Grave was the casting of Peter Kay in the lead role of Spud. Although I understand that getting a big name helps to attract viewers, proud Northerner Kay playing old school Londoner Spud didn't ring true. The fact that Kay was struggling with the accent led him to almost shout all of his lines and in the process turned what could've been a rather realistic 1970s dad into a comedy caricature. It's a shame because underneath all the mess there were decent glimpses of a coming-of-age comedy about a youngster who wasn't quite sure of his place in the world. I have to admit than whenever Laurie Kynaston was on screen by himself Cradle to Grave was at its strongest. However the over-reliance on the larger-than-life Spud and the fragmented narrative meant that Cradle to Grave had a rather confused tone which meant that I could never fully relax into it.

Video: How to play a young Danny Baker

Laurie Kynaston - who plays the teenage Danny Baker - and Danny Baker himself told BBC Breakfast about the challenges of transferring the book to screen.

Cradle To Grave review

The cast make the characters shine, particularly the empathetic Laurie Kynaston as 15-year-old Danny, and Lucy Speed, underused in episode one as long-suffering mum Bet, reduced to histrionics after stumbling across her son making out.