Ramona Marquez

Outnumbered came to BBC One with very little fanfare. There were a few adverts, but it was stuck on at 10.35pm after the News, and shown on consecutive nights over two weeks. Which is unusual to say the least, and I've no doubt that some people missed some episodes if they thought it was a weekly programme.

Yes, quiet and unassuming it may have been, but it was gorgeous. Following a middle-class family in the midst of several crises, Outnumbered proved so special because of the actors' improvisation. To be precise, it was the children who improvised around the adult actors' script, and the result was magical. Five year old Ramona Marquez played the youngest child and is a complete genius - you could see that Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner's reactions to some of the more surreal things she came out with were entirely genuine. The other children, played by Tyger Drew-Honey and Daniel Roche, couldn't be quite so off the wall, and therefore probably actually had to work harder, and were both wonderful.

TV Scoop, 13th December 2007

It's not the most earth-shatteringly original set-up, I'll grant you - mum, dad and three kids living the kind of comfortable middle-class London existence that comedy script-writers feel at home with.

But compared to the ridiculous carry-on of My Family, it's much more low-key and realistic. In fact it's so low-key, nothing actually happens, which could well be a nod to Seinfeld - the touchstone of all great sitcoms.

The getting ready for school chaos is like Supernanny: The Movie only with nicer children. It's also taken a leaf out of Curb Your Enthusiasm's book with large chunks of improvisation - although the strongest language you'll find here is 'ponk'.

Ramona Marquez who plays their angelic daughter Karen is adorable and letting the kids make up their own dialogue results in the kind of off-the-wall comedy grown-ups couldn't make up if you paid them.

Weirdly, the BBC have decided to schedule this on consecutive nights with three episodes this week and three episodes next week, so keep an eye out for it.

The Mirror, 28th August 2007