Omid Djalili

Jo Brand continues her rewarding relationship with naturalistic comedy in this drily enjoyable series revealing more of the life of Kim Wilde, the care assistant first seen in BBC4/z]'s Getting On. Jackie and Kim are facing up to having to pay £875 a week for their mum's care following her stroke. Husband Dave (Omid Djalili), meanwhile, must contend with a bilingual satnav, and "helpful" suggestions from his co-worker Terry (the very funny Tom Davis).

Going Forward: serious comedy, just don't expect laughs

So it's not that funny, for a comedy. But it is sharply observed, nicely performed, with credible dialogue, some of which is surely improvised. The days when sitcom meant a door opening, someone walking in and delivering a one-line, then pausing for the canned laughter, are nearly over, thankfully. Plus it captures a hellish world where people come second to profit, a world of care that doesn't care. And it will strike a chord with - or maybe send a shudder through - anyone who has ever worried about money, or has or will have elderly relatives who need or will need help. Everyone, in other words.

Jo Brand returns as former nurse Kim Wilde in Going Forward, who has now left the NHS and is currently working as a carer for the fictional Buccaneer 2000. Going Forward, which is set over three consecutive days, also follows the rest of the Wilde family most notably Kim's husband Dave (Omid Djalili) who works as a driver for a private hire company. The majority of this first episode, which is co-written by Brand and Getting On producer Geoff Atkinson, splits its time equally between watching Kim at work and seeing Dave's rather inane conversations with his colleague Terry (Tom Davis). Going Foward also introduces us to the Wilde children; teenage father Max (Ben Colbert) and high achieving schoolgirl Kelly (Imogen Byron), neither of whom have a lot to do in this first episode. Whilst I wasn't expecting Going Forward ever to live up to the standard of the flawless Getting On I wasn't expecting to be as disappointed as I was. I think the problem with having the character of Kim anchoring this series is that she sort of the straight man of the central trio in Getting On. Having her headline the show means that the more overt comedy has to be provided elsewhere as it was in Getting On thanks to Jo Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine's performances. However the characters of Den and Pippa are essentially replaced by Dave and Terry who are two men that I didn't really care for all that much. Their conversations about former colleagues who've done well and the positives of working in Iraq weren't that funny and outstayed their welcome very quickly. Atkinson and Brand also weren't sure if they wanted Going Forward to continue in the same observational vein as Getting On or being a more out-and-out sitcom. This a led to a very awkward scene in which Kim, Dave and Max were squeezed into his work car with one of his clients alongside one of her regulars and his dog. This scene typified to me everything that was wrong with Going Forward; a programme that did have moments of genuine promise. Most of these moments were those which saw Kim caring for the older patients and were those that were the most reminiscent of Getting On. For example the scene in which Kim helped one old lady write a birthday card for her son was both realistic and incredibly touching. Brand is also on form once again as a performer however I found her and Atkinson's writing a little inconsistent which was the main problem with Going Forward. That being said I will be going forward with Going Forward primarily due to my love of both Jo Brand and the character of Kim Wilde.

Jo Brand returns as Kim Wilde, the NHS nurse from Getting On, coping with a demanding but poorly paid job as well as three kids and a dog. Omid Djalili co-stars as her husband, a private hire driver. Tonight, he's forced to rescue Kim from an emergency with a passenger in the back. This is isn't so much a sitcom about predicaments and foibles, however, as a warming portrayal of good people getting on with life under near-impossible circumstances.

Review: Going Forward, BBC4

There are only three episodes in this run, which is a shame. Brand has become one of the highest profile comedians in the country in recent years and she is doing something here that is both relevant and funny. If Ken Loach made sitcoms they might be something like Going Forward.

Going Forward: Jo Brand shines but sitcom needs nursing

This was another comedy about broken Britain, but focusing not on those who toil inside a knackered state institution but the wider social fabric, privatised to buggery but somehow doddering on. Homelier and gentler and patchier than Getting On, it somehow lacks its asperity but also its poetry.

Omid Djalili interview

Provocative and funny, Iranian comedian Omid Djalili has a larger than life personality and an act to match. Just don't expect a straight answer from him.

Review: Omid Djalili

Certainly, it's rare to see such an established, even mainstream, comic as Omid Djalili be so deliberately politically incorrect with racial and national stereotypes; risk-taking with disability material; unorthodox with stand-up's seemingly default atheism, even taking a pop at its high priest, Tim Minchin.

Review: Omid Djalili

As promised in his recent interview for TV Bomb, Djalili uses this Glasgow International Comedy Festival show to reflect upon many of the 21st century problems that one faces in contemporary society. His set covers just about every geographical area of the world; from jokes about Donald Trump and the US presidency, to doing gigs abroad in Malta and Qatar, and even discussing the recent benefit changes outlined in last week's budget. The highly current issue of ISIS and Syria features heavily in the night. Whilst discussing these often bleak facts, Omid is truthful, yet manages to find comedy in these dark areas without laughing at the expense of those who have suffered. A rather impressive feat.

Interview: Omid Djalili

Glasgow International Comedy Festival is now well under way, but if you haven't had chance to catch anything yet, there's plenty still to come. Like Omid Djalili, for instance, who plays the King's Theatre on Saturday. Joe Gardner grabbed a word with the country's favourite British Iranian...