Lee Mack

Beginning another series of amiable panel-game mendacity. Should you not have caught any of the previous six series, this is a show in which Rob Brydon presides over two teams as they attempt to wrongfoot each other with claims made by their members. An "if it ain't broke" format, even down to the guests: David Mitchell and Lee Mack captain the teams, with return appearances this week from comedians Dara O'Briain and Rhod Gilbert, and newcomer celebs Denise van Outen and Vernon Kay.

Returning to assume his hosting position for an eye-watering seventh series, Rob Brydon stirs the comedy panel-show action with his familiar scurrilous cheek. David Mitchell and Lee Mack are back in harness as team captains, and tonight's porky-spinning guest line-up includes Rhod Gilbert, Vernon Kay, Dara O'Briain and Denise Van Outen. Who will turn out to be the most credible fibbers/most gullible listeners when it comes to telling tales - tall or true - about their own lives?

The funniest and most likeable panel game on television returns to brighten Friday nights, with Lee Mack and David Mitchell renewing their class-divided clash of wits.

As Mitchell has pointed out, the running rivalry trades on images of each other - as the unworldly toff and the philistine oik - that have precious little to do with reality, but hey, who cares when they deliver the laughs? The other panellists, Rob Brydon as host, even the format of the show, are all only biding time until Mack and Mitchell can start pitching derisive darts at one another.

But lest we forget, the gist of the show is celebs telling implausible - yet often true - stories about themselves and submitting to mocking cross-examination, before opponents try to guess if they're bluffing.

For added enjoyment, play along at home and pause before the reveal to take bets. It's not easy.

Jogging into the studio for a chat we have the Olympic gold medal-winning legend Mo Farah - shouldn't he be getting an early night ahead of Sunday's London Marathon, even if he's only doing half?

Also in the running are Not Going Out main man Lee Mack and Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow - who's doing the promotional rounds for Iron Man 3.

All three guests are game for a laugh, so it's just as well synthpop duo Hurts are on hand to calm things down with their music.

In the first two episodes, the gap left by the departed Tim Vine's character was filled with farcical plots. Tonight, things calm down and we veer as close to emotion as this endearingly flippant series gets. Lucy is doing night classes in psychotherapy, so Lee (Lee Mack, a Graham Norton guest tonight) mocks the whole idea - before submitting to counselling himself. Perhaps his failure with relationships has roots in his upbringing?

Enter Bobby Ball as Lee's dad. There are deeper waters than usual under the gags, but dim friend Daisy keeps it light. Daisy: "You said you wanted to damage the bike!" Lucy: "No, I said I wanted to break the cycle."

If you haven't seen or heard of 8 Out of 10 Cats before then you probably don't have a television and have no need to be reading this. It's your straightforward celebrity panel quiz show where the questions are based around various surveys and statistics, as is explained at the top of the show by host Jimmy Carr.

This week they aired a second episode of the show where the host and guests are, for no explained reason, playing a game of Countdown. I can only assume that the initial C4 mash-up was a big hit and they thought, "Aaah why not, eh?" As usual, Jimmy rattled off a number of scripted gags, ranging from fair to poor, and Jon Richardson was his usual dour self, taking the role of team captain.

Notably missing from the line up was Sean Lock, which was a big loss to the show. Sean usually adds a nice eccentricity with his obvious lack of ego, never afraid to pick up on jarring absurdities of 'celebrity' guests on the regular weekly edition. Lee Mack was a fair replacement though, quick witted as usual, with a number of nice one-liners. He even managed to score a nine-letter word early on leaving the ever competitive Jon Richardson with plenty of room to play up his comically-angry persona.

Lee was joined by Rob Beckett and Jon by Rhod Gilbert, both of whom were funny and likeable. Tim Key was in Dictionary Corner and although enjoyable, he didn't have as much of a chance to shine as I would have liked. Joe Wilkinson appeared around the halfway point to "assist" Rachel with the letters, however he had no real reason to be on the show. Wilkinson is undoubtedly a funny man, but the number of appearances he makes on the show is somewhat diluting the hilarity of his "crazy antics".

An entertaining and fun show, then, providing you're not put off by the odd Savile joke or sexual objectification. Just saying.

For reasons never really explained - well, beyond the fact that the letters board presents a fine opportunity for puerile mischief - the Cats mob have become a little smitten with Countdown: this is the third mash-up between the shows in little over a year. Jimmy Carr again hosts, though Sean Lock is away on tour, so regular captain Jon Richardson pairs up with gruff Welshman Rhod Gilbert to take on Rob Beckett and panel show pro Lee Mack. Over in dictionary corner, Countdown veteran Susie Dent is joined by the marvellous Tim Key.

Playing the comedy-show mash-up game, afternoon favourite Countdown gets a prime-time makeover, with regular Cats Jon Richardson and Rhod Gilbert pitting their wits against opponents Lee Mack and Rob Beckett. Over in Dictionary Corner, the very funny Tim Key reserves the right to delete any wordy offerings that don't come up to scratch. And maybe he'll treat us to one of his comedy poems - they deserve a show of their own.

Lured by a bargain-basement price, Lee (Lee Mack) books a skiing holiday for three - a skinflint move he regrets the minute he, Daisy and Lucy step foot inside a cable car to take them to the top of the mountain. As claustrophobia, old-time puns and squeamish humour kick in, we're halfway up a slippery slope which sees Lee at 'the business end' of things when heavily pregnant fellow cable-car passenger (Pooky Quesnel) realises her waters have broken.

The best image in tonight's instalment is of Lee Mack hanging upside-down from a pair of skis.

This is another episode that asks itself "What's the smallest space we could use for an entire 30 minutes?" before deciding to go with a cable car.

Lee, Lucy and Daisy go skiing and if you think their clothes look like they were found in the back room of a 1970s thrift shop, the set-up is even more old fashioned.

The cable car gets stuck (their fault, naturally) and there's an angry, heavily pregnant eastern European woman on board (Pooky Quesnel) who's about to go into labour. To add to the fun, Lucy has both her arms in plaster casts, which makes you wonder how she applied her eye make-up.

The one-liners ricochet around that cable car at such a rate that you'll probably forgive the predictability of their plight.