Mark Heap

Penned by Hebburn writer Jason Cook, Griff Rhys Jones plays mercenary murder mystery writer David Van Der Clane, who's helming a budget coach tour of super-fans to the locations from his novels, ending up at Blackpool Tower. Except soon they're getting bumped off. There's a fine cast including Johnny Vegas, Sian Gibson and Una Stubbs, but even Kevin Eldon and Mark Heap find it hard to wring out any laughs. Whodunnit? Who cares?

I don't think I've ever seen a more impressive cast lined up for a TV comedy than the one Gold has assembled for its special one-off original commission Murder on the Blackpool Express. So I ought to namecheck them, oughtn't I?

There's Johnny Vegas, Sian Gibson (best known for Peter Kay's Car Share), Nigel Havers, Una Stubbs, Griff Rhys Jones, Nina Wadia, Sheila Reid, Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap, Kimberley Nixon, Katy Cavanagh, Matthew Cottle, Susie Blake and Javone Prince. There you have them: some of the best comedic talent from the past half a century or so - and a lot for the scriptwriters and directors to live up to.

Where do you go with that lot? Well, Blackpool, obviously, on a "literary coach tour" with Vegas driving and Gibson as the guide, but also a journey of detective investigation to discover exactly which of the assembled odd bods did for pensioner Marjorie, murdered by means of a dodgy cob with coronation chicken filling. There's one clue for you. Remember: Means, Motive, Opportunity. Enjoy.

Review: Murder on the Blackpool Express, Gold

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Ben Elton's eloquent defence of the mainstream sitcom last month was illuminating, fascinating and persuasive. And in a way maybe it could be seen by some as an incidental pre-emptive strike against critics who might have their hatchets sharpened for the new series of Upstart Crow, Elton's popular sitcom about Shakespeare's early years starring David Mitchell. If that is the case though Elton needn't worry. The only thing he has to live with here is critics trotting out the "not-as-good-as-Blackadder" line.