Richard Pinto

Christmas Carole review

Of the many, many, many versions of Charles Dickens's classic tale produced each year, Sky's retelling adds an intriguing twist or two - but can't help but feel like a plodding adaptation.

Christmas Carole review

Suranne Jones is pitch perfect in this instant festive classic.

Christmas Carole review

Modern-day Scrooge is as flimsy as a party-hat cracker.

Last in the series of Richard Pinto's amiably silly sitcom about sixtysomethings - and in June Whitfield's case, ninetysomethings - resolutely failing to behave like old folks. Tonight, Joan (Whitfield) appears to have landed herself a 70-year-old toy boy, Roy. Joyce and Maureen are convinced that he's after her money but it turns out to be more complex than that. Good to see Paula Wilcox back on screen, so underused since Man About The House.

Richard Pinto's sixtysomething sitcom continues, with the gang heading to a gastropub for Carol and Trevor's 40th wedding anniversary. Naturally, things don't go smoothly, as Carol considers a big life change. A comedy with some good lines (hangdog Alan reflects on meeting up with the same bunch of people yet again: "These people are friends, we shouldn't have to see them") but which somehow lacks warmth. Worth persevering with, even if this episode doesn't, as Ab Fab did so splendidly, make enough of June Whitfield's comic timing.

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.

Radio Times review

This sitcom from Richard Pinto (Citizen Khan) will be clasped to the bosom of anyone who loves New Tricks, as Boomers centres on a group of old-timers, friends from years back, who find themselves out of kilter with the modern world.

The humour is broad and painted with the widest brush strokes and there are echoes of Victor Meldrew's curmudgeonly head-butting against the idiocies of political correctness and life in general. The cast includes some solid comedy names, including Russ Abbot as the dourest member of the group and Nigel Planer as the wide boy with the newly acquired young Eastern European wife (feel free to let out a weary groan).

The women (Alison Steadman, Paula Wilcox, Stephanie Beacham) always win out in any given situation as their hopeless blokes go to the pub. In the opening episode, everyone gathers at a funeral.

Boomers, BBC One, review: 'well-observed and authentic'

When the credits rolled at the end of Boomers (BBC One, Friday) - the new sitcom exploring the accelerating dotage of the Sixties generation - my first instinct was to seek out the writer, Richard Pinto, wherever he may be, and buy him a nice cup of tea.

To give you the flavour of this new comedy set around an Asian family, at one stage its hero, self-appointed "community leader" Mr Khan, drives to his local mosque and parks in a disabled space. As he gets out of the car passers-by shoot him a look, so he starts limping heavily.

It's not the episode's finest moment but it shows that writers Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto are not proud about where they'll look for laughs. Luckily, Khan himself is a brilliant creation by Adil Ray. Tonight, his daughter is set to get married, but Khan has foolishly failed to book the mosque.