Ruth Jones (I)

Like most comedy writers, I've tried to get a sitcom on television. And, like most comedy writers, I've failed (although older viewers can find a show I co-wrote, The Junkies, on YouTube). Naturally, this makes me bitter about those who've succeeded where I haven't.

So I was very much looking forward to hating BBC4's new comedy The Great Outdoors, written by Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley (Black Books, Hyperdrive).

But much to my distress, The Great Outdoors is brilliant. Not only is it the best comedy on TV right now - not difficult as we're in a midsummer trough of trash as usual - but it has the makings of a classic.

The almost actionless adventures of a walking club might not sound thrilling. But The Great Outdoors' genius is to unfold the lives of the members over several episodes, rather than lumber them with weak dialogue and willy jokes.

This week I was moved by the plight of Bob the walk leader (played by Mark Heap, the only man to star in both Brass Eye and Lark Rise To Candleford) and the stirrings of his affection for Christine (Ruth Jones).

Heap and Jones are great but the entire cast work together and every scene - every line - combines to make this something rather special.

Rats. Now I'll have to find something new to hate.

The final instalment of Ruth Jones' promising comedy sees the rivalry between characters Bob and Christine come to a head in a hike along the south coast. It's a clash that's been building throughout this specially commissioned series and one that will be full of the tragi-comic material that's made the show a joy to watch over the last few weeks.

Comedians ribbing each other about far-fetched tales - it's what Friday-night telly was made for. And this week's gathering of deceivers and doubters may be the sharpest yet. Joining chalk-and-cheese team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack are Ruth Jones (of Gavin & Stacey fame), Jason Manford (The One Show) and comedians Jack Dee and Peter Serafinowicz. In short, every one's a winner. Tonight's best round involves a mystery guest called Ian. The question is, did he save Jones's tortoise from death, sell batteries to David Mitchell via eBay, or get attacked by schoolchildren alongside Manford? Finding out is a blast. Plus there's a new round where host Rob Brydon has a go at fooling the teams himself. But did he really once steal Catherine Zeta-Jones's dinner money?

Full marks to whoever booked the panellists on tonight's Would I Lie To You?. It's a solid gold line-up this week. Joining David Mitchell, Lee Mack and Rob Brydon are Ruth Jones, Jason Manford, Jack Dee and Peter Serafinowicz - taking a break from what is practically a full-time job of filling the Twitter-verse with surreal one-liners.

This week they're all bringing their best poker faces to some very tall tales involving Ray Charles, a tortoise, a human sausage, a cheese and onion sandwich, Lee Mack's life expectancy, and David Mitchell's battery-buying habits.

And Rob Brydon's getting in on the act as well with his own true or false questions - did he really once steal Catherine Zeta-Jones' lunch money?

This three-part comedy follows the hikes, heartaches, friendships and rivalries of a misfit rambling club. Last night's opener saw newcomer Christine, played by the always-excellent Ruth Jones, joining them from north Devon. She arrived equipped for every eventuality, including a stash of emergency flares, a cagoule with breathable vents and a jumbo box of cereal bars.

Her outspoken manner and constant rejoinders that "this wasn't how they did things in Barnstaple" soon rubbed group leader Bob (Green Wing's Mark Heap) up the wrong way. "She's like Ranulph Fiennes on HRT," he muttered bitterly to right-hand man Tom.

Meanwhile, Bob's daughter Hazel was battling the unwanted attentions of toothy teenager Victor and Tom was revelling in his newfound unemployment. "I've been out of work before, but I really want to make a go of it this time," he told Christine.

Bob's long-term ambition is to create the biggest rambling club in the Chilterns. Unfortunately, his rubbish jokes and tendency to dictate the conversational topics mile by mile ("OK, mile one topic: dinner with a Beatle... living or dead, which wife and what's the menu?") mean new members keep falling by the wayside.

The laugh-out loud moments may have been few and far between, but we reckon this gentle adventure is definitely worth keeping up with for the next mile or two.

A three-parter promising "lovely views, stolen kisses, packed lunches and punch-ups": each episode shows us one day trip taken by a group of squabbling ramblers. It should be fertile comedy ground, and the cast is superb: Lark Rise to Candleford's master of elongated suffering, Mark Heap, stars as group leader Bob, with Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones playing Christine, a new member just arrived from Barnstaple. If that weren't upsetting enough, she's got a GPS and fancy hiking socks...

This promising new comedy follows the hikes, heartaches, friendships and rivalries of a misfit rambling club. Gavin & Stacey actress Ruth Jones stars opposite Mark Heap, who you may recognise from Lark Rise to Candleford and Spaced.

Part of BBC Four's Outdoor Season, The Great Outdoors has the potential to be one of the comedy hits of the year. Heap and Jones are two of the UK comedy scene's hottest properties and the show's writers, BAFTA award-winning and rambling-loving duo Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley worked together on the hilarious Black Books. Let's hope the show lives up to its promise.

This new comedy boasts a fine cast, including Green Wing's Mark Heap, Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones and The IT Crowd's Katherine Parkinson.

There's also some rather nice scenery. The story centres on a rambling club and its peculiar assortment of members, with each episode focusing on one of their excursions.

It's during these that we discover the friendships and rivalries within, most notably the clash between traditionalist Bob (Heap) and newcomer Christine (Jones), the latter's high-tech accessories and fancy gear getting right up the former's nose.

For fellow member Sophie (Parkinson), the outings are a tad less relaxing than she'd envisaged when she and husband Joe (Steve Wight) signed up - but it seems she's considering other ways to unwind...

When I moved up north, I made the mistake of joining a walking club to make new friends. If the company had been as ­entertaining as this, the weather as sunny and the terrain as flat, I might have stuck it out for longer than a month.

This new three-part comedy series stars Mark Heap as Bob, the domineering head of a dwindling group of ramblers in Buckinghamshire. Newcomer Christine (Gavin and Stacey's Ruth Jones) has just joined them from north Devon with an oversized rucksack packed for every eventuality and very outspoken advice about how they used to do things in Barnstaple.

The cast also includes Katherine Parkinson from The IT Crowd and each week will join the group on a different walk. This time Bob is dismayed to discover that his favourite pub has gone gastro and there's an unfortunate incident with a rabbit.

We've got a lot of affection for Mark Heap and Ruth Jones, have a good deal of time for the work of Hyperdrive writers Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley and even like the idea of a comedy about a hapless group of ramblers. Unfortunately we didn't get a preview, so all we really know is that Christine (Ruth Jones) is hyper-efficient and wants to take over leadership of the ramblers from Bob (Mark Heap).