Philip Jackson

Radio Times review

Caitlin Moran's modern-day sitcom inspired by her early life in Wolverhampton (co-written with her sister Caroline) finally arrives for a full series. And the Garry clan have lost none of their eccentricity, curiosity, honesty and ebullience since the Christmas 2013 pilot. Like all good comedies it creates its own world and language, though the closest analogy would be to a female-heavy Shameless (albeit where our heroine ends up with a column on The Times).

The Caitlin character is Germaine (Helen Monks), a spiky, idealistic dreamer dressed like a punked-up cross between Helena Bonham Carter and 1984-era Madonna (the pop star, not the mother of God).

There are other enjoyable turns from Rebekah Staton as forthright, smart, wisecracking mum Della, whose advice always seems spot-on, and Philip Jackson's Grampy. He's the only significant male, but his character is totally at home in this oestrogen-heavy working-class wonderland.

Radio Times review

It's Joyce's retirement party, but she's not happy, largely because she doesn't want to retire and, besides, she wanted a do at a nice country house hotel where someone else would do the work. All she's getting from her lumpen husband Alan (the splendid Philip Jackson) is cava (no champagne), a patio heater and heavy-duty plastic sheeting.

As the curmudgeons gather for the festivities they are joined by a ghastly new neighbour and her spoiled, home-educated, precious kids. The humour is broad as it is obvious - for instance, gags about cocktail sausages and Norwich, which is supposed to be intrinsically funny- but Boomers and its stalwart cast of top-of-their-game actors sail through it all without even touching the sides.

Radio Times review

It's Thurnemouth Day, when the Norfolk seaside home of our 60-somethings celebrates its history. That means stolid Trevor (James Smith) donning a Nelson outfit to cut a ribbon and busybody Joyce (Alison Steadman) marshalling her choral society. "I think her goal is to take over every society in Thurnemouth," groans husband Alan. "And then invade Poland."

There are some easy-to-see-coming jokes and creaky bits of comedy based on awkwardness - wry smiles rather than laughs-out-loud - but when the likes of Smith and Philip Jackson as Alan get to underplay things, there's also the sense of a group of people who know themselves and each other almost too well, which could get interesting.

Alison Steadman & Philip Jackson shine in this sitcom

After watching the first episode of Boomers, I really feel as if Richard Pinto's sitcom could be a success.

Just seeing the title will be enough for true fans of Ed Reardon. They need not read on. Their favourite show has returned. But for those who've never encountered the cynicism, dry asides and borderline-psychotic vitriol of Mr Reardon, now is the time to get acquainted.

Reardon is the comic creation of Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas (who plays him) and as the ninth series opens our hero is down on his luck - again. The gas and electricity have been switched off, he doesn't have a penny to his name and his fingers are too big to type on the minuscule keypad of his phone - "Sunday" comes out as "dimfat", a result that will resonate with many adult readers.

And so he turns to his now ex-girlfriend Fiona (played by Jenny Agutter), arriving at her house in a state of total self-abasement, which lasts as long as it takes for her to offer him some lunch. She agrees to consider taking him back if he gets a proper job and this is where his old rival Jaz Milvane (Philip Jackson) comes to the rescue.

There's money to be made from Harry Potter and though Ed declares he'd rather hang himself with a Hogwarts' scarf than contribute any more money to JK Rowling, he's soon dressing up as a porter at King's Cross station. Next he's persuading Japanese students to stuff £20 notes into his satchel before they "board" the Hogwarts Express.

This is not just funny, it's comic genius.

It's hard not to like this, and believe me I've tried. But Rafe Spall is great at the whimpering, socially inept halfwit whose every action is fodder for a couple of sports commentators.

Tonight, Pete's dad (the great Philip Jackson) fetches up at Pete's house, saying he's left Pete's mum. Nothing of what follows is subtle, but it has just enough charm to keep you watching. There are some good asides about rip-off local shops and their paranoid owners and an unkind dig at Mick Hucknall.

A terrific performance by Paula Wilcox is central to this amusing drama by Daniel Thurman that explores the dangers of having too much time on your hands. She plays Yvonne, whose world is thrown upside down when, aged 64, she loses her job. Until this cataclysmic moment Yvonne and her husband Neil (Philip Jackson) have drifted along in contented domesticity while he indulged his passion for birdwatching. But suddenly, Yvonne starts to see Neil's hobby as something more sinister; a reason to escape, a desperate cry for freedom - despite the protestations of her pragmatic friend Wendy (the peerless Anne Reid). There are some beautifully observed moments and tremendously witty dialogue that - very much in the vein of Alan Bennett - finds rich humour in the seemingly mundane.

A double bill of Chekhov: in The Dangers Of Tobacco, Steve Coogan plays Nyukhin, a husband who should be delivering a lecture of the harmful nature of tobacco (even though he smokes). However, he keeps slipping off topic, telling the woes of his life, his regrets, yearnings and the misery inflicted by his domineering wife. In The Proposal, Mathew Horne is a nervous hypochondriac who has come to ask his neighbour's hand in marriage. However, he becomes embroiled in a petty squabble with the neighbour (Sheridan Smith) and her father (Philip Jackson) which threatens his life.

A successful season of short farces by Anton Chekhov draws to a close with a double bill. The Dangers of Tobacco is a monologue in which the hen-pecked Nyukhin (Steve Coogan) is forced to deliver a lecture on the dangers of smoking by his domineering wife. Instead, Nyukhin digresses to bemoan his lot and complain about his "petty, evil miser" of a wife. Better is The Proposal, a witty take on marriage. It finds wimpy hypochondriac Lomov (Mathew Horne) seeking the hand of his neighbour Natasha (Sheridan Smith) from her father (Philip Jackson), until it all disintegrates into a bout of one-upmanship.

Bright Constable Twitten (Matt Green) wants to cheer up poor Sergeant Brunswick (John Ramm) but it's hard going when they're under the command of Inspector Steine (pronounced Steen and played by Michael Fenton Stevens) who can't spot a crime when it's going on in his own nick. As it often is, as their cleaning lady Mrs Groynes (Samantha Spiro) is a criminal mastermind. Enter Harry Jupiter (Philip Jackson), top reporter and Brunswick's idol. You have to be spry to follow the twists in Lynne Truss's cartwheeling comedy.