Mark Heap

TV preview: Upstart Crow, Series Three, BBC2

David Mitchell returns as aspiring playwright/superstar William Shakespeare in Ben Elton's return-to-form sitcom. I say return-to-form with a couple of caveats.

Spaced​ revisited: looking back at a cult classic

It may have been released nearly two decades ago now, but Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson's sitcom Spaced remains as hilarious and comforting as it ever was. The show is one of the great modern sitcoms and was the launching pad not only for Pegg, Stevenson and the rest of the cast, but also for director Edgar Wright.

Friday Night Dinner, Channel 4 review

Predictable but fun.

Friday Night Dinner, review

This gentle sitcom should be required viewing for anti-Semitic trolls.

Ah, the joy; the return of Robert Popper's always very funny sitcom about a Jewish family's ever-thwarted efforts to settle down for a customary Friday-night meal. Tonight, Mark Heap excels himself as oddball neighbour Jim, who has somehow managed to secure himself a date. He saddles the Goodmans with his enigmatic dog Wilson, about whose dietary habits we learn a little. All this eats into the quality time the parents, if not their sons, had hoped to spend in their new hot tub.

TV review: Friday Night Dinner, C4

This is a grimly funny episode full of great lines and fabulous performances, including the dog.

Friday Night Dinner, Channel 4, review

Still a delicious mixture of slapstick and acid after five series.

A very welcome new series for this reliably funny sitcom. As we return to the Goodman residence, the family have a new hot tub and Mark Heap's oddball neighbour Jim has a date - which really does prove that there's someone for everyone.

In praise of​ Big Train

A tribute to the underrated 90s sketch-comedy gem.

In praise of Benidorm, the UK's most under-rated sitcom

It's a funny old game, comedy. Steve Pemberton's critical accolades for The League of Gentleman, and BBC2's late night cult hit, Inside No 9, are legion. But you'll be hard pressed to read glowing reviews of his eight years starring in the ITV comedy Benidorm. In fact you'll be hard pressed to read anything glowing from sniffy critics about the hit sitcom, despite its millions of viewers, longevity and viewer-voted National Television Awards. In fact, one critic went so far as to describe the viewing public a "disgrace" for voting for it.