Miles Jupp

Radio award for In And Out Of The Kitchen

Miles Jupp and Justin Edwards' Radio 4 sitcom In And Out Of The Kitchen has been honoured at the BBC Audio Drama awards.

A consciously old-fashioned comedy one-off, with Catherine Tate and Miles Jupp as a couple whose stay in a honeymoon suite might save their marriage, if only ludicrous circumstance doesn't nobble them. There's quality throughout the cast, with Steve Edge and Car Share's Sian Gibson as the hotel staff, but farce is hard to write and this script falls well short. The pace doesn't gather, nothing anyone does is plausible, and the dialogue is littered with dead lines. Cringeworthy, in the wrong way.

Catherine Tate stars in this one-off comedy about an estranged married couple trying to rekindle their love after the trauma of an affair.

Anna (Catherine Tate) checks into a lovely old hotel in Stratford upon Avon for what she hopes will be a peaceful weekend but it seems the old town has been invaded by stag parties. There are medical students in Shakespearean garb vomiting into plant pots and clutching their hungover heads and groaning at the mini-bar bill which is full of drinks and Chunky Kit Kats. The town has clearly slipped into decay. In the old days the worst thing you'd see would be "method actors rehearsing for Coriolanus." Now it looks like Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night.

And the hotel room doesn't offer much hope of romance. You could sleep in the same bed once occupied by Shakespeare, Anna is told, even though it was recently ordered from DFS.

Miles Jupp plays her estranged husband and they try to claw back some passion even though Anna suspects her husband might prefer Newsnight to sex.

Radio Times review

This one-off looks good on paper. The idea of Catherine Tate and Miles Jupp as a married couple in a saucy farce should work, and the best scenes are when they spark off each other. ("I like sex! Is that so bad?" she cries; he says he does too, and she corrects: "I think you prefer Newsnight...")

They split up because she had an affair, but reunite by accident at the honeymoon suite booked for their tenth anniversary, because neither could bear to waste the deposit. From there, a heavy-handed script trades on crossed wires and coincidences involving escorts, a stag night and people not finishing their sentences.

Miles Jupp interview

Miles Jupp says Radio 4 comedy needs the odd 'kidney punch'.

Joe Lycett becomes new host of It's Not What You Know

Joe Lycett is to become the new host of Radio 4 panel show It's Not What You Know. He will take over from Miles Jupp, who devised the format and hosted the three series since its launch in 2012, but has now become host of The News Quiz.

Miles Jupp: 'I'd love to play a Bond villain'

Comedian Miles Jupp, new host of Radio 4's News Quiz, talks about the onus of taking over from Sandi Toksvig and broadening his acting horizons.

Miles Jupp's hoping to tweak The News Quiz guest list

With his donnish demeanour, ecclesiastical upbringing and background in children's television, Miles Jupp is a somewhat unlikely comedian. "I went to an audition the other day," he says. "I needed to do a North West accent for it. The accent I did was really good, mainly because it sounded nothing like me. And the reason it sounded nothing like me was that I had attempted to drive my car into the NCP car park in Newport, forgetting that I still had a rooftop box on."

Review: The News Quiz hosted by Miles Jupp, Radio 4

I'm not sure if fans will be saying "Sandi who?" just yet, but as debuts go this was a pretty efficient one. Jupp felt like a good fit and I'm sure he will get better. As he joshed when referring to Jeremy Corbyn: "It's all a learning curve and he'll be a lot more confident by episode 2..."

Miles Jupp would be 'surprised' if Rev returns

Rev star and comic Miles Jupp has said he does not envisage a return of the popular TV comedy Rev, in which he starred with Tom Hollander and Olivia Colman.