Reece Shearsmith

Even devotees of BBC1's cute historical drama Lark Rise to Candleford would admit that it's deliciously spoofworthy, what with its myriad of quaint Victorian niceties and arch dialogue. So it will surprise no one that the masterly Victoria Wood presents Lark Pies to Cranchesterford as part of her much-anticipated Christmas special, telling the touching story of young Araminty, who leaves her rural hamlet for a job in the Post and Potato Office.

Midlife Christmas promises to be a real treat for anyone who thinks Wood has been away from television for too long. Yes, she did Housewife 49 (very successfully), but that was a drama and Wood is queen of the sharp, pitch-perfect sketch show.

Here she looks stern as Sir Alan Sugar's sidekick Margaret Mountford in an Apprentice send-up, and we revisit Bo Beaumont (Julie Walters), the pretentious actress who plays Mrs Overall in Acorn Antiques. Guests include Delia Smith, Torvill and Dean, Anton du Beke and Reece Shearsmith.

Hallowe'en isn't until Saturday but here's comedian Reece Shearsmith (from The League of Gentlemen) in a haunted house in Hackney, with a bunch of other entertainers as keen as he is on ghosts, apparitions and macabre manifestations, to discuss the history of horror in entertainment. This week, together with Vic Reeves, Mark Gatiss and Yvette Fielding (often found on satellite TV, being gripped by spooky emanations), they discuss classic scary shows from British radio and TV and their essential ingredients. Next week, films.

Very slightly disappointing guests this week, although Lee Mack's team does manage to accommodate the widely differing talents of beaming West End musical star Michael Ball and sulphurous TV grump Charlie Brooker. Both are good value (Ball even makes a sly joke about drugs), but on David Mitchell's team Trinny Woodall and Reece Shearsmith seem, well, out of sorts. No matter. This show has no problem overcoming the handicap of less-than-sparkling guests to deliver a half-hour of laughs. Tonight the flights of fancy (or are they brute facts?) include Shearsmith's alleged spell working in a themed funeral parlour and Brooker's claim that he pretended to a girlfriend for six years that he was partially deaf. But crucially, do three members of the cabinet subscribe to David Mitchell's Twitter feed? And, if so, who are they? You'll have to watch to find out.

This gothic BBC comedy-thriller written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton is as brutal, gory and funny as The League of Gentlemen. But also present is a sense of whimsy, even at times an unexpected tenderness. The story begins with five people receiving a letter that reads, 'I know what you did', and leads to an explosive and tense finale. It's shot through with savage comedy, from one man's preoccupation with the bowels of conjoined twins to the slapstick of a blind man trying to make phonecalls on a Club biscuit. The story is brilliantly told and expertly performed, never more so than in the central, fourth episode which is the most rewarding half-hour of the series, shot to suggest one long take. The on-screen chemistry between the League regulars is a joy to watch and moments like Maureen fluttering her cardy to make like Superman are hard to forget.

In the interviews included in the extras on the DVD, producer Jon Plowman reveals Psychoville was written in six parts but when it became apparent the ending was too expensive, Plowman asked the Beeb to make it as a seven-part show, then asked the writers to request an extra, cheap episode. This is the extraordinary fourth ep and is proof that too little money can be an advantage. On the disc, there's even a fascinating split-screen option showing how it was shot.

It's incredible what a lick of face-paint will achieve - Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton bring their chameleonic skills to this odd tale of blackmail.

Meet the dwarf obsessed by his pantomime co-star, Mr Jelly the clown, who keeps getting mistaken for his more successful competitor, Mr Jolly (with hooks for hands, he is not a world away from The League of Gentlemen's Papa Lazarou), and a murder-obsessed man-child from Wood Green. Dawn French provides a chilling turn as a midwife who pretends a toy baby is the real thing - and in her hands the writing, which subtly drip-feeds insight into these bizarre characters' personalities, comes most alive.

Psychoville: the end is nigh!

Reece Shearsmith provides his thoughts on the finale of Psychoville (don't worry, no spoilers).

Psychoville Preview

This Thursday, Psychoville - the latest comedy-horror from Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, half of the team behind the gets-better-every-time-you-watch-it League of Gentlemen - reaches its deadly and disturbing denouement.

Psychoville 1.6 Review

Everyone's drawn to Ravenhill Hospital in the penultimate Psychoville, an episode that rediscovered the sense of pace and development from the earlier episodes. I have high hopes for next week's big finale after this, so hopefully Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton won't let us down...

In its scary, sinister, creepy but very funny way, League of Gentlemen Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's beautifully made and brilliantly performed comedy thriller has been one of the TV treats of the summer. This coming Thursday it reaches its climax with some suitably awful goings-on as all the characters find out why they've been summoned and who summoned them.

It's the penultimate episode of a series that shows no signs of returning to Planet Normal any time soon. All the characters are worried that their mysterious blackmailer is "deeply disturbed" and "bordering on the psychotic", which brings to mind pots and kettles of the blackest variety. As the story unfolds, they are all drawn to a disused hospital in readiness for a macabre showdown. But before that can happen, the Mother & Son team of serial killers (Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton) are preparing to dispatch one final victim. Mum wants to buy an indoor barbecue in readiness for the occasion. "I thought we could do something special," she says, "and eat her. What do you think? I've bought some red onions." "That's disgusting," her son replies. "I don't like red onions."