Rachel Rae

Let's hope this pilot isn't the new Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps because it veers dangerously towards that comedy abyss. It's about the semi-likeable misfits who are the regulars at the Friendship Inn. There's manageress Elf (Aisling Bea) with her tacky theme nights, the promiscuous Blue (Rachel Rae), and Sharon (Poppy Jhakra), who's "23 going on 53". The characters have potential but the script is sadly unimaginative.

The young, feckless admin team who work in the post room of a firm of lawyers is the setting for a not particularly original new comedy series. Revelling in the mundane and the useless seems to be the staple of comedy shows these days. Nevertheless Lunch Monkeys does have its moments. These mainly involve new girl Shelley (Rachel Rae), libidinous solicitor Charlie (Steve John Shepherd) and the dim-witted Asif (Abdullah Afzal). Nigel Havers stars as a partner but looks rather out of place. In this first episode, Kenny (Christian Foster) tries to ask Tania (Jessica Hall) out on a date.

Hang on. A new, work-set comedy with staff playing pranks on each other, a spineless boss and scenes divided by printers in action? But this isn't Wernham Hogg; this is personal law injury firm Fox Cranford. And the approach is totally different: it's overplayed and apparently aimed at the Two Pints demographic. The opener is a classic set-up, with new girl Shelley (Rachel Rae) arriving late on her first day and making a disastrous impression with her superiors. Nigel Havers adds a veneer of class, but it's all forehead-slappingly obvious.