Neil Fitzmaurice

I think the best way to start the review of this programme is with the following statement: Peep Show is better than Father Ted.

I know that according to Channel 4's Greatest Comedy Show Father Ted's is better, but it's wrong. It's merely more popular. Peep Show's funnier because of the writing, the plot devices, the innovative camera work, the quality of the performances and the darkness of the humour and characters. Peep Show may never have attracted more than 2 million viewers for a single episode, but the quality of it stands.

Peep Show returned with its usual mix of darkness and desperation, thanks to the struggling lives of flatmates Mark and Jez (David Mitchell and Robert Webb). At the start of this series, Mark is trying to get Jez out of the flat so his love Dobby (Isy Suttie) can move in. Mark's plans are so desperate; he even thinks breaking Dobby's microwave will help. Also, Mark gets a job tip from - of all people - Super Hans (Matt King), Jez decides to undergo therapy, and the health of Mark's love rival Gerrard (Jim Howick) takes a turn for the worse.

There's so much to like in this opening episode, including Jez's somewhat paranoid display when he attends his therapy session, to the horrifying consequences which result when Mark tries to prevent Isy from seeing Gerrard. One interesting plot device which seems to be sprouting is Jeff (Neil Fitzmaurice), now living with Sophie (Olivia Colman), getting a bit too close to Mark's baby son Ian for his liking...

Interview: Dave Spikey

Dave Spikey is perhaps best known for his work on Phoenix Nights alongside the likes of Peter Kay, Neil Fitzmaurice and Justin Moorhouse, but he's revisiting straight up stand-up with his latest tour, Words Don't Come Easy. Radio Teesdale's Peter Dixon caught up with Spikey to talk about his comedy philosophy - and whether the success of Phoenix Nights weighs him down a little...

Mount Pleasant cast interview

Recently we got to sit down and ask Adrian Bower, Sian Reeves, Neil Fitzmaurice, Sally Lindsay and Daniel Ryan from Sky1's upcoming comedy/drama Mount Pleasant...

It's sadly the last in the series of the sharp-witted sitcom and Mark (David Mitchell) is worried that Jeff (Neil Fitzmaurice) is becoming a potential rival father to his unborn child. So he decides to learn to drive in order that he can take Sophie (Olivia Colman) to the hospital when the baby arrives.

Neil Fitzmaurice and Scallywagga cohort Jessica Hall make a bid for dominance of the BBC3 comedy scene by popping up in their second humorous offering for the channel in a week.

There are lively, engaging turns from Hall as a ditsy blonde who's far sharper than she's given credit for and ex-bit part Corrie waiter Chris Hannon as a childish employee harbouring delusions of career grandeur, and both give these characters enough depth to wonder how they'd fare in future episodes. One of the better offerings from this series of pilots.