Rory Bremner

Rory Bremner lampoons Russell Brand

Rory Bremner becomes Russell Brand, cheekily grinning by a microphone and looking uncannily like the long-haired comedian as he made his prank calls to Andrew Sachs, in his new show.

A new three-part series from Rory Bremner, John Bird and John Fortune focuses first on the economic recovery, or lack of it, as well as looking askance at Gordon Brown's frightening smile and the "Sachsgate" affair. This was recorded in advance of the full horror of the MPs' expenses scandal; that will no doubt be explored in future weeks.

Rory Bremner casualty of C4 cuts

Channel 4 sources confirmed that there were no plans to commission a new series of Bremner, Bird and Fortune, although there would still be one-off specials.

A satirical series in which the trio have played the current financial crisis for laughs, but have also conducted a crash course on the head-in-the-sand mindset of the world's highest-paid bankers as they traded in large amounts of debt.

In November last year, The South Bank Show produced a wonderful profile of the satirical veterans Bird and Fortune. During the programme, the pair did a two-handed analysis of the sub-prime crisis. Aside from being achingly funny, this nine-minute sketch provided a devastatingly accurate analysis of how the mess came about. You can still see it on YouTube, where it has already notched up (literally) millions of hits without any publicity.

It makes sense, therefore, that Bremner, Bird and Fortune should tackle the crisis in greater depth in this new four-part series. They are certain to offer a sharper - and far funnier - guide to the crisis than many an economic analyst.

Telegraph Interview

Rory Bremner talks to The Telegraph about the funny side of the financial meltdown and how he tricked Margaret Beckett into thinking he was the PM.

'A semi-improvised sitcom set in the back rooms of Westminster' might sound like the driest, most clever-clever, Bremner-ish bit of business imaginable, but that's precisely what this isn't: it's laugh-out-loud funny - so good, in fact, I watched the second episode on video immediately after finishing the first, then phoned up the BBC to badger them for the third.

There's also Alistair McGowan's The Big Impression at 8.25pm on BBC One, which never seems to get the critical face-kissing it deserves, yet is clearly one of the cleverest programmes we have. He noticed that no one can ever own more than half the rights to the Queen Vic. That Richard Madeley would ideally do his links in little raps. And that Dot Cotton is almost Albert Steptoe. All Rory Bremner's done in 15 years is to point out that politicians aren't wholly candid.

In a wilderness of monkeys, as Shylock put it, John Bird and John Fortune preserve your faith in man. The Long Johns (Channel 4) is television like auntie used to make. These sketches appeared first, cut to fit, in Rory Bremner Who Else? Who else was much the best bit of his show. Here they are seen at their full length.