Lee Mack

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.

A cheap skiing holiday in eastern Europe turns into a nail-biting comedy nightmare for Lee, Daisy and Lucy when they become stranded in a cable car far above the piste.

The episode plays out in real time, which helps to build up the hysteria as the group come to realise that the local woman stuck in the car with them is heavily pregnant. You can probably see where this is going, can't you?

What follows is typically ribald, buffoonish Not Going Out fare as hapless Lee (Lee Mack) is inevitably nominated to act as midwife - what with Lucy (Sally Bretton) being incapacitated by an accident and dim Daisy (Katy Wix) being, well, dim Daisy. Throw her a stick and she is guaranteed gleefully to seize the wrong end. Of course it's deeply silly, but as usual there are gags that will make you laugh, despite yourself.

This show could have been made at any time in the last 40 years, which should tell you all you need to know. Lee Mack is the Mr Reliable of British comedy and Not Going Out continues to deliver his stock in trade: traditional, unremarkable humour with a high gag density that just about makes up for its lack of real inspiration.

Tonight Lee, Lucy and Daisy go skiing. This episode plays out in real time, entirely inside a cable car which counts as significant stylistic innovation in trad sitcom world. The trio cause a mechanical breakdown, endanger a bird and incur the wrath of the stern eastern European woman with whom they're sharing the ride. Oh, and the woman is pregnant - if you've ever seen a cookie-cutter prime-time sitcom, you can probably imagine where this might be going. It doesn't disappoint.

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.

One of TV's most unlikely - but no less enjoyable for that - cross-fertilisations returns as the 8 out of 10 Cats comedy quiz team takes over (for the third time) the veteran words and numbers game Countdown. Once again, Jimmy Carr replaces Nick Hewer in the presenter's chair, while Jon Richardson is joined by Rhod Gilbert to take on fellow comedians Lee Mack (replacing absent captain Sean Lock) and Rob Beckett. In Dictionary Corner with Countdown's Susie Dent is performance poet Tim Key, while Rachel Riley gets less welcome assistance from beardy Joe Wilkinson.