Mathew Baynton

Mathew Baynton interview

Mathew Baynton on making Bill, the cheeky charm of Horrible Histories - and the disconcerting effects of his own success.

The original title Apocalypse Slough might have suited this series better, but its transatlantic potential precluded that provincial option. Still, this is a great, mordant end-of-the-world drama, finely led by Mathew Baynton, of Horrible Histories and Yonderland fame. He's joined by big names, such as Rob Lowe and Megan Mullally - and Diana Rigg, who features as shadowy, oxygen-guzzling Sutton. Tonight, Scotty tries to make up for mistakes and Jamie is shaken by a sudden tragedy.

The end-of-times comedy drama continues as Slough bank manager Jamie (Mathew Baynton) tries to find his birth mother while the authorities continue to mistake him for hacking mastermind Ariel. Meanwhile Father Jude (Rob Lowe) and Sister Celine (Gaia Scodellaro) save a young girl from an angry mob only to find out she has a surprising secret. It set an agreeably silly tone from the off and the performances, coupled with the impending jeopardy, keep this crackling like a space rock entering Earth's atmosphere.

From the off it was quite easy to ascertain that You, Me and The Apocalypse was a co-production between Sky and NBC as it featured several stars from the American network's biggest sitcoms. Despite the big American names the show is narrated by Slough Bank Manager Jamie (Mathew Baynton) who is still nursing a broken heart after his wife mysteriously disappeared shortly after their honeymoon. Things get worse for Jamie when he's arrested for cyber terrorism and discovers that he may have an identical twin who is the head of the organisation. This feeling is confirmed by his mother (Pauline Quirke) who reveals that she adopted him after finding him in a shoebox. As the story is told in flashbacks we also see several the stories of several other people who are sharing a bunker with Jamie as a meteor collides with the Earth. They include a naive nun (Gaia Scodallero) who arrives at the Vatican to work in the office of the Devil Advocate under the foul-mouthed Father Jude (Rob Lowe). Elsewhere we see Rhonda (Jenna Fischer) who takes the rap for a crime committed by her teenage son who hacked into the NSA network. Rhonda is soon befriended by white supremacist Leanne (Megan Mullally) with both ladies escaping prison once the end of the world is announced. The first episode of You, Me and The Apocalypse contained some big ideas and I felt it tackled them well for the most part. Writer Iain Hollands has come a long way since E4's Beaver Falls and has crafted some interesting characters who find themselves in bizarre situations. The cast, primarily the American stars, were great at handling the wittier lines of the script with Lowe and Mullaly being the stand outs for me. However, I was disappointed by Baynton who appeared to be playing the same character he portrayed in The Wrong Mans. Additionally I felt that the pace of the opener was rather slow which probably had something to do with the fact that it will be running for ten episodes. But despite this I would say that You, Me and The Apocalypse does have promise and I'll at least watch one more episode to see how it progresses.

This promising all-star comedy drama stars Mathew Baynton, one of the Horrible Histories ensemble, as Jamie, a diffident bank manager who is falsely arrested for cyberterrorism but for whom a still grimmer fate lies in wait, along with the rest of humanity: a comet is on an unavoidable collision course with Earth, due to crash in 34 days. Appropriately, the cast is like a sea of past sitcoms flashing before your eyes - Megan Mullally from Will & Grace, Jenna Fischer, Rob Lowe and Pauline Quirke as Jamie's mum.

To the universe, it's a galactic wing-ding; to the inhabitants of Earth, it's a comet strike which will obliterate all known life forms. All that's left for humanity is 34 days of panicking. Or digging a very, very, very, very deep bunker.

Which is where this begins, a disparate group of survivors from all parts of the world trapped in an underground facility, and it's not immediately obvious if this is the best place to be. Better than on the exact spot where the comet's due to hit, but not perhaps by much.

There's an international cast to depict how the pretty bad news is taken, with Rob Lowe playing a Vatican priest, Jenna Fischer a librarian trapped in a New Mexico prison for hacking, and Mathew Baynton a Slough bank manager who might also be an international cyber-anarchist when he's not arranging mortgages. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll start stockpiling tins.

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James Corden and Mathew Baynton's comedy crime capers in The Wrong Mans look to be over for good.

Mathew Baynton interview

The Yonderland star Mathew Baynton on becoming a young Shakespeare - and why his clowning career was almost over before it began.

Mathew Baynton talks about Yonderland

I was lucky enough to catch up with Mathew Baynton ahead of the second series of the fantasy comedy series Yonderland.