Sarah Solemani

Five reasons why Him & Her is the best sitcom on TV

The cult comedy starring Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani is back. Claire Webb explains why you'd be a fool to miss out on the fourth and final series...

It's the final series of this deliciously grubby comedy with Steve and Becky (Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani) looking on, horror-struck, from the sidelines as Becky's nightmare sister Laura (Kelly Howard) prepares to tie the knot with fiancé Paul. He looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights - who wouldn't at the prospect of becoming Mr Laura? - but there's more to his wayward behaviour than simply an attack of the pre-nuptial jitters...

For its final outing, the format of Him And Her manages to outdo The Worst Week Of My Life by having the entire series take place over a single day.

It's the wedding of Becky's nightmare sister Laura (Kerry Howard) to her pitiful boyfriend Paul and for the first time ever, Becky and Steve (Sarah Solemani and Russell Tovey) have been allowed to venture out of their squalid bedsit.

They're now staying in a hotel with the rest of the wedding party, which includes fellow bridesmaid Shelly, Becky's ex-boyfriend and the bride's unfortunate baby who's being handed around like a game of pass the parcel.

But a wedding is all about the bride and Laura, who's utterly unbearable at the best of times, hits new heights of narcissism
and nastiness on her big day.

But where is the groom?

Don't expect romance from the fourth and final series of this cult comedy, in which Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani play the eponymous couple: as grubby, beleaguered and endearing as ever. Do expect to wince and guffaw by turns.

For the first time, we see Steve (Him) and Becky (Her) outside their dingy bedsit. They're holed up in a second-rate hotel for her delectably odious sister Laura's big day. Sharing their pain is Shelly, sporting a terracotta spray tan; her mangy lover; Becky's dapper ex-boyfriend; and the bride's baby, who is passed from pillar to post. But where oh where is the groom? This is a perfect antidote to those sickly sweet rom-coms so beloved by Hollywood.

The jewel in BBC3's comedy crown begins its lap of honour with a final series set on a single day. The appalling Laura and the pathetic Paul are tying the knot, Becky is the main bridesmaid, Steve is the best man and chaos is sure to ensue.

We'd wondered if this scenario might be a touch too busy for a show that has often specialised in doing nothing much, very slowly and very charmingly for whole episodes at a time. But on the evidence of this opener, it should work fine: Steve and Becky (further showcasing the remarkable chemistry of Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani) are the still point around which a series of bizarre, hideous and unbelievable events seems likely to swirl - and we're sure they'll take it in their collective stride.

A word too for Kerry Howard, whose Laura is surely one of the most unbearable creations in TV history - she manages to infuse Laura's every moment of screentime with a uniquely noxious mixture of selfishness, neediness and spite. We can only hope her career survives the association...

Interview: Sarah Solemani

Sarah Solemani has had more gags than hot dinners this autumn: as a hippy teacher in Bad Education, a long-suffering ex-girlfriend/boss in The Wrong Mans and now in the third and final series of cult sitcom Him & Her. But what does the comic actress tune into in her downtime? RadioTimes.com asks the all-important questions...

Video interview: Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani

Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani, the stars of BBC Three comedy Him & Her, speak to Harriet Gibsone about the show, which returns for its fourth and final series on Thursday 21 November. It follows the antics of Becky and Steve, two lazy slobs in love. Though previous series have all been set exclusively in their bedsit, the fourth sees the action move to a hotel, scene of Becky's sister Laura's impending wedding.

It's fair to say that Him & Her's format jigging gives the final run a bit of a special feel, but, as ever, the show is sold on the understated brilliance of Sarah Solemani and Russell Tovey. We're really gonna miss popping round to the bedsit.

Meet the cast podcast

Russell Tovey, Sarah Solemani, Kerry Howard and Ricky Champ discuss the final series of Him & Her with Boyd Hilton at the Apple Store in London.

If you couldn't tell that The Wrong Mans was a Big Deal from the explosive trailers and high production values, then the quality of the supporting cast should confirm it: Dougray Scott, Sarah Solemani, Benedict Wong, Emilia Fox, Nick Moran, Dawn French, Tom Basden...

Even more impressively, each turn (Fox and French excepted, although we suspect there'll be more to come there) makes an impression, while creator-stars Mat Baynton and James Corden nail the odd couple dynamic that keeps this occasionally leaky vessel afloat. We join Sam (Baynton) and Phil (Corden) drifting further out of their depth at the hands of psychotic gangsters Moran and Wong, before a show-stopping presentation from Sam saves his professional hide while bringing the danger even closer to home.

It's in these collisions of the workaday and the white knuckle that The Wrong Mans works best, as the more traditional thriller elements stubbornly fail to coalesce with any conviction. But it's never dull and frequently very funny.