Sally Hawkins

Hard to resist this sweet-natured romcom from Richard Ayoade, AKA Maurice Moss of The IT Crowd. It's the story of 15-year-old Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), who is determined to lose his virginity before he hits 16 (preferably with Yasmin Paige's Jordana) and to protect his mother (Sally Hawkins) from the seductive powers of old mullet-headed flame Graham (Paddy Considine). There's real warmth and comedy in these characters.

Preview - Submarine

Richard Ayoade's directorial debut is an idiosyncratic coming-of-age drama about a teenage pupil who is trying to cope with the trials of school and domestic life while also discovering love.

The first episode of Little Crackers offered an object lesson in sharp storytelling. My First Brassiere was a pithy love letter to Barbara Windsor's bosom that offered the surreal sight of the older Babs being confronted with her own burgeoning teenage breasts - she played a shop assistant measuring up her younger self.

Weird, huh? Perky and engaging, with Samantha White striking as the young Babs and Sally Hawkins and Neil Jackson a joy as her parents, this short film played like a trailer for a feature-length story. Someone really should make it.

Next up was Jack Whitehall's bash at his Little Cracker, as Archie Lyndhurst starred as a 10-year-old version of the camp comedian, with Inbetweeners mum Belinda Stewart-Wilson in another 'MILF' role and Whitehall himself as a chap called Robin Hood.

Like Babs' offering, this was another enjoyable little comedy and although Whitehall's idea and execution were spot-on, it's obvious that it's Sky 1's Little Crackers concept that is to thank for the consistent high standard of these yuletide treats.

This is a special hour-long comedy drama about the French Revolution, written by and featuring the usually Victorian-based sketch troupe consisting of David Reed, Thom Tuck and Humphrey Ker.

However they were not the main stars of this special. These were Richard E. Grant playing the role of Robespierre, leader of the Terror; and Sally Hawkins as Marie-Therese, daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The main story is an imagining of a conversation between the two that was never recorded.

The programme tells the story of the Revolution in a humorous way, although the history is very much a back drop to jokes and characters best described as daft. For example, Marie-Therese complains about the book she has been given to read while she has been in prison - an atlas so out of date that it does not include Spain. Also there are sketches featuring peasants having stone soup, because eating shoes is a luxury.

However, out of all the characters that appeared in the programme, my personal favourite was Marie-Therese's brother Louis-Charles (aka Louis XVII) who was portrayed as being rather dim and naïve. For example, he gets too excited about helping France's poor so he wants to donate all of his toys. In the end he gets a job making shoes, but gets beaten up by his master for making shoes which are too decedent.

There are other nice moments, like how the French revolutionary calendar would result in problems for Father Christmas; and also some nice quotes such as Robespierre's remark that: "You can't make a crème brûlée without burning some sugar."

It was an entertaining hour, although I would recommend that if you're looking for a comedy show which is more educational in its dealing of the French revolution, you may want to look at Mark Steel's Viva la Revolution.

Guy Fawkes was the subject of comedy sketch troupe The Penny Dreadfuls' first radio play back in 2009 and now they return with a sharp satire on the French Revolution. Richard E Grant plays Robespierre with so much camp abandon that he must have done his rehearsals in Millets, but the effect is sublimely clever. Robespierre was, after all, the architect of France's bloody Reign of Terror. Here, he is the master of the feeble pun and the half-baked aside. The drama imagines him in conversation with Marie-Thérèse (played by Sally Hawkins of Made in Dagenham fame), the spoilt, stroppy and scarily intelligent daughter of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. He's met his match.

The Penny Dreadfuls are a comedy trio. Radio 4 seems to think highly of them as this is a return visit with a play about the French Revolution. Richard E Grant stars as Robespierre, prime mover in the great Terror. Sally Hawkins plays 16-year-old Princess Marie Thérèse, imprisoned first with her family (Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, her aunt and little brother), later, after the execution of the king, in solitary confinement where Robespierre visited her. This play imagines the dialogue. Sounds cheery, eh?