Lily Allen

Dreamland review

This Lily Allen comedy is a breath of fresh air.

Dreamland review

Lily Allen's seaside comedy shines after rocky start.

First look pictures from the set of new comedy Dreamland

Lily Allen lit up a cigarette on Tuesday in first-look photographs from the set of her new comedy Dreamland in Margate.

A panel of top-drawer celebrities, including Richard Ayoade, David Mitchell, Mel B, Micky Flanagan, Sarah Millican and Kevin Bridges are grilled by Jimmy Carr to see which of them has retained the most knowledge of 2014. To win the crown, they'll need to recall who purred down the phone in September, why Bono issued a worldwide apology in October, and what sporting event was the most-tweeted-about ever in July. Providing assistance are a host of varyingly beloved celebs including Michael Palin, Rio Ferdinand and Lily Allen.

"Sir, why does an Austrian being killed by a Serb in Bosnia mean war, sir?" And so begins the fastest guide to the first world war you'll ever meet, narrated by a rat. As ever, there's an emphasis on gruesome facts and bodily functions, with an advert for World War One Wee Wee, useful for cooling down and softening boots in the trenches. It's not just the children who'll chortle at Historic MasterChef and Emmeline Pankhurst portrayed as a Lily Allen-ish character singing about how fierce suffragettes were.

Although I knew the programme was coming, I did feel that it received very little in the way of promotion before it aired last Monday. I have to say I didn't expect much going in, primarily as it was placed in the dreaded 10:35 slot for shows that BBC One aren't that proud of. To his credit McIntyre proved to be an endearing presence, as he often is, although he really didn't ask his guests that many probing questions.

I did feel that the programme was better depending on the quality of the guest, so to me it was at its best when Sir Terry Wogan appeared and reached a lull by the time we got to Lord Sugar.

One of the things that irritated me the most about McIntyre was the fact that he continually broke the fourth wall, whether that was to inform Lily Allen that somebody was talking to him in his ear or the pre-credit sequence in which we saw him talk to the audience ahead of the show itself. In fact McIntyre seemed more at home addressing the audience than he did when he was forced to go into chat show host mode.

His interactions with the crowd provided the funniest moments especially when he played the first ever round of 'Send to All'.

Though not as bad as some celebrity-fronted chat shows, especially the one that Allen herself hosted, I don't think that McIntyre really suits the chat show format in a way that others such as Alan Carr and Graham Norton do. Thankfully his likeability shines through which doesn't make watching the programme a chore, but at the same time I don't think I'd ever choose to watch it again.

Radio Times review

The path from comedy to chat show is a well-trodden but perilous one. Alan Carr and Graham Norton have both skipped down that route with ease but now Michael McIntyre finds out whether his bouncy style of humour will work in the static format of a chat show.

Stand-up comedians don't always find it easy to allow someone else into the spotlight so he'll need to rein in his boisterousness a bit. If he wants pointers, two of his guests have been in the hot seat themselves before: Terry Wogan and Lily Allen (although the latter was widely panned for her efforts). It'll be interesting to see how Michael copes with his other guest, too - Lord Sugar doesn't suffer fools gladly, so he's not always the easiest interviewee.

The oft-mocked standup comedian tries his luck as a chatshow host, using his polite brand of charm to lure guests to the sofa in a new series. On a scale of Norton to Paxman, McIntyre's not likely to ruffle any feathers, and with Terry Wogan and Alan Sugar in the Beeb-heavy line-up that should suit his guests quite well. If the thought of Wogan dishing out chatshow tips makes you reach for the off button, wise mistress of controversy Lily Allen will also be on hand to liven matters up a bit.

Does the world really need another chat show? Decide for yourself as irrepressibly perky comedian Michael McIntyre tries to remind himself to shut up long enough to let his guests get a word in edgeways. Graham Norton, Alan Carr and Jonathan Ross will scarcely be quaking in their boots at McIntyre's opening guest list: Lily Allen, Lord Alan Sugar and Sir Terry Wogan can all be relied on for a jolly anecdote but it's a pretty safe choice for an opening gambit. McIntyre will need something a little edgier if he's going to stand out in a crowded marketplace.