Robert Webb

David Mitchell and Robert Webb return for the sixth series of their sitcom. It continues to follow the life and times of the anorak and the wastrel, although by now the characters are getting longer in the tooth. The credit crunch has hit Croydon, the twentysomethings have turned into thirtysomethings, fatherhood looms on the horizon and the anorak celebrates his promotion at work by splashing out on a boiler. Unlike a classic comedy that appeals to all ages, Peep Show targets a peer group who identify with the preoccupations and insecurities of the characters expressed through internal monologues. "[Its success] has a lot to do with being honest about what your life is like and the reality of living in London," says Mitchell.

Good on Channel 4 for keeping faith with Peep Show, despite viewing figures so small they can barely be seen with the naked eye. Now entering a sixth series, socially inept and emotionally stunted flatmates Mark and Jeremy (David Mitchell and Robert Webb) are trying not to think about the inescapable fact that one of them is the father of pregnant Sophie's baby. Wails Mark, "The baby is too big. You can't look at it. It's like the sun." It's up to the decrepit, drug-addled Super Hans (Matt King), who looks increasingly like a monster in a German Expressionist film, to keep the boys from one another's throats. But Mark's world turns to ashes when there's a fire drill at his office and the egregious Johnson (Paterson Joseph) makes an announcement in the car park. If you know little of Peep Show, then probably nothing short of the offer of a free cruise will persuade you to watch it. If you love it, rest assured, age has not wearied writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong's perfect little blackly comic gem.

David Mitchell and Robert Webb on Peep Show: interview

The writing duo behind Channel 4's popular cult sitcom Peep Show talk about the genesis of their Bafta award-winning show.

Peep Show - They're still worth spying on

Six series on and Mark and Jeremy are the same old losers, living in one another's pockets. That's the secret of Peep Show's success, David Mitchell and Robert Webb tell James Rampton.

Interview: David Mitchell, Robert Webb ('Peep Show')

With a pair of CVs covering the likes of Peep Show, Magicians and That Mitchell And Webb Look, David Mitchell and Robert Webb have officially cemented themselves as comedy connoisseurs. But with Peep Show series six now upon us - and with a seventh already on the way - are they getting tired of Mark and Jez? And how much longer can the show go on? We caught up with the chaps themselves to find out.

Peep Show? Brilliant. David Mitchell on any of the roughly 795 radio and TV panel games he's adorned with his presence? National treasure-in-waiting. But if his reputation rested on his TV sketch shows with Robert Webb, the two of them might well be known as the Anna Kournikovas of comedy: famous, but useless at the thing they're famous for.

The problem with the sketches in That Mitchell and Webb Sound (which the lads mostly write), as opposed to Peep Show (which they mostly don't) is that they're clever but not very funny, a slight handicap for a comedy programme. Each situation is replete with comic possibilities and progresses with savage twists of absurdity. It should be drop-dead hilarious. It's the kind of thing, though, you watch with an expectant grin - but no belly laughs.

So I listened to the new series of the radio version with some trepidation, but although not everything was a palpable hit, there was enough to be going on with. Some of the ideas were spot-on, such as the orthopaedic suppliers with an inter-dimensional portal on the shop floor ("gentlemen, the stargate is not a bin"), or the iReckon, Apple's new gadget ("I can download all my thoughts from the internet!"). And Caesar being coached in referring to himself in the third person was pure The Two Ronnies.

How nice to see that, despite an increasing television profile for their sketch show, David Mitchell and Robert Webb have not turned their back on Radio 4. This new six-part series also includes something that was dearly missing from the last TV series - the effortless comic delights of Olivia Colman.

Behind the scenes: Peep Show 6

PICTURE GALLERY: Sam Bain, co-writer of Channel 4 comedy Peep Show, reveals a sneak peek of the new series featuring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The sixth series, made by Objective Production, will air this autumn.

Tucked in between Thursday night's line-up of swords, smut and sorcery in Krod Mandoon and the bizarre brilliance of Psychoville, David Mitchell and Robert Webb's clever, crafted sketches act as a bit of a palate cleanser - a brief return to a sane world we can vaguely recognise.

The sketches where they painstakingly point out the basic idiocy of other TV shows always hit the mark and Webb's shouty, swearing TV chef who says "balls" a lot is a highlight.

So is Mitchell as a soothsayer in ancient Pompeii. Midway through series three, their policy of spreading their comedy net far and wide means their material is still as fresh as ever - unlike many sketch shows that rely on trotting out the same characters and catchphrases week after week for easy laughs.

That said, their running parody of a 70s sitcom - Get Me Hennimore! is totally inspired silliness.

This week's targets for David Mitchell and Robert Webb's satire include a shouting TV chef and homeopathy - both almost too easy to make fun of, you might think, but they find clever new ways. Even if the idea of a Casualty-style drama set in homeopathic A & E department doesn't make you laugh ("His chakras are fading! We're gonna need more crystals!"), the doctors' after-work trip to the pub should. Mitchell is on romping form, as good playing a soothsayer in Pompeii or a man who doesn't understand what an X on the end of an email means. There are dud moments - a swinger sketch doesn't even nearly work - but four weeks in, their stock of sharp ideas doesn't look like running out.