Michael Hogan

Are sitcom revivals ever a good idea?

As ITV announces the return of Birds of a Feather, Michael Hogan considers the troubled history of reviving sitcoms.

Les Dawson: An Audience with That Never Was (ITV) was a not-terribly-snappily titled tribute, timed to mark the 20th anniversary of the much-loved comic's death. It told the story of the TV special Dawson was a fortnight away from recording when he died and attempted to recreate it using a 3D projection. The hologram was billed as "staggeringly realistic" and perhaps it was if you were in the same room. On TV, it merely looked like a cut-out image of Dawson wearing an unnaturally bright blue jacket and a low hairline, standing strangely still and occasionally moving jerkily.

Instead this was a glorified clip show. Venerable figures like Bruce Forsyth, Cilla Black and Ken Dodd sat in beige hotel suites, going misty-eyed over their memories. The celebrity audience watching the hologram's performance were noticeably one notch below - more the level of Debbie McGee and Lionel Blair. And those were two of the more familiar faces. Despite the presence of Dawson's widow and daughter, who were visibly moved, this still felt like a macabre cash-in. A tribute to Dawson would have been fine without a shoddy attempt to "bring him back to life".

The show was rescued by Dawson himself, whose wit rang down the decades. He rattled out mother-in-law gags and gurned with that rubbery bulldog face. We heard how he was an accomplished musician and frustrated poet, hence his artfully off-key piano-playing and relish for florid language. Best of all, there were copious clips of his "Cissie Braithwaite and Ada Shufflebotham" routines with Roy Barraclough, the cross-dressed pair gossiping like fishwives and silently mouthing more "delicate" words, before hitching up their ample bosoms. Cissie and Ada really were three-dimensional.

Shameless, Channel 4, review

Last night it ended on a high, with departed stars returning for a rather touching swansong.

Is Michael Palin best at comedy or travel presenting?

As Michael Palin prepares to receive a prestigious Bafta Fellowship tonight, Michael Hogan considers what his strongest suit is.

Doc Brown: 'I'm an accidental comedian.'

The former rapper on his standup act, working with Ricky Gervais and why Margaret Thatcher ruined his research.

Ant & Dec are the new Morecambe and Wise

Still dominating entertainment television after 24 years on our screens, Ant and Dec are worthy inheritors of Eric and Ernie's crown, says Michael Hogan.

Lee Mack's gag-packed, innuendo-laden creation is now on its sixth series, and has been sold to 120 countries. Set in London's Docklands, it follows happy-go-lucky slacker Lee (Mack himself) who has a crush on his flatmate Lucy (Sally Bretton), while Katy Wix (Anna & Katy) plays their dim-witted hairdresser friend Daisy. This eight-part run is the first without Mack's co-star and punning partner Tim Vine and begins with head-hunter Lucy going for dinner at a client's house in an attempt to secure a lucrative contract.

Celebrities reveal inner Alan Partridge on Twitter

Over on Twitter, an account called Accidental Partridge (@AccidentalP) has attracted 40,000 devoted followers within a month. Its simple but effective shtick is to select the most banal, pompous, Partridge-sounding tweets by "celebrities" (I use the word loosely) and retweet them with the hashtag #accidentalpartridge.

The problem for impressionists, once you're past the original impact of their mimicry, is how to sustain the entertainment value. This five-part series takes the approach of fitting funny voices into a bittersweet comedy drama. Terry Mynott plays mild-mannered Martin Hurdle: a loyalty card-collecting maintenance man who happens to have a gift for aping the voices of celebrities and colleagues alike. It's clumsy at times, with impressions crowbarred into the script, but likeable enough with a certain gentle charm.

The 11th and final series of the cult Mancunian drama arrives. We're promised an epic 14-part run, with many of the departed stars (including Anne-Marie Duff) returning for the finale. In this colourful opener, it's a double celebration on the Chatsworth Estate: the residents have been awarded an Olympic ring from London 2012 (well, sort of), while the Maguire family toast the expansion of their dodgy empire. Meanwhile, Frank Gallagher (the brilliant David Threlfall) has become a school caretaker.