Simon Amstell

Last year the BBC aired Grandma's House, Simon Amstell's acerbic sitcom about a dysfunctional Jewish family. The very mixed notices it received have clearly not deterred Channel 4, who keep the middle-class Jewish mayhem coming with this new series from writer Robert Popper. Each episode centres on Friday night dinner with the Goodman family. Bickering brothers Adam (Simon Bird, star of The Inbetweeners) and Jonny (newcomer Tom Rosenthal, son of sports broadcaster Jim) are reluctant attendees, while their mother Jackie (Tamsin Greig, fresh from appearing alongside Matt LeBlanc and Stephen Mangan in Episodes) and father Martin (Pulling's Paul Ritter) try to uphold some family values. In tonight's opening episode, Jackie is intent on getting the boys to watch the MasterChef final, while Martin is preoccupied with rescuing old copies of New Scientist from the dump. Things are further complicated by the continual interruptions from weird neighbour Jim (Mark Heap), who claims to have broken his loo. As a comedy, it's not mean-spirited and cynical, but actually rather sweet. Of course, It's too early to say if it'll be a hit - in particular it is unclear whether Bird has acting gears other than his sarcastic, awkward Inbetweeners persona - but there's certainly enough here to keep you watching.

You may be forgiven for thinking you'd somehow slipped through a hole in the space-time foam if you tuned into BBC Two at 10pm - as a new episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks aired with Simon Amstell at the helm and Russell Brand, restored to lascivious form, as a team captain.

The episode was discarded during the furore over Russell Brand's 'Sachsgate' scandal in 2008 and it seems the BBC only saw fit to air the Buzzcocks episode - shot around the same time - some two years later.

It was rather nostalgic to see a rakish Brand on our screens again leaping about energetically and humping female panellists.

It shouldn't be a prerequisite for a comic to be single-and-ready-to-mingle, but he carved a persona for himself so fixated around sex and promiscuity that it remains to be seen if his act will be as successful now he is Mr Katy Perry.

For once in his life the attention (and the laughs) were not directed at Brand however.

Buzzcocks has been ailing somewhat since the exit of its acid-tongued host Simon Amstell and this episode reminded us exactly why.

Be it his surrealist remarks aimed at guest Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall ('Hugh is it true you keep a pork chop in your pocket at all times?') or his cruel but hysterical volley of zingers aimed at Rachel Stevens, Amstell more than stole the show, displaying a fast wit that Brand's theatrical way with words could not match.

One highlight even saw Amstell impersonating Brand's Ponderland demeanour, gesticulating wildly with his limbs and talking in riddles, which, in fairness, Brand took very well.

Both comedians however showed off their talents and reminded us why at its height Buzzcocks was so much sharper than the slew of mildy amusing panel shows such as Mock The Week and 8 Out Of 10 Cats that our screens are now littered with.

With Amstell's subsequent sitcom Grandma's House flying under the radar somewhat and Brand off playing himself in Hollywood movies, I just hope we haven't lost these two comedic talents for good.

Radio Times review

The most unfairly criticised comedy of the year, with sages queuing up to make the shattering observation that Simon Amstell can't act. Why would he need to? He was playing himself in a sitcom about a comedian who, despite considerable success, is paralysed by neuroses and has no communication skills, especially when stuck with his brash, unstarry relatives. Mumbling and nearly corpsing worked for Jerry Seinfeld and were what was required here.

Amstell's merciless dissection of his own personality gave Grandma's House its real-com edge, but more importantly, it had a fabulous cast (Rebecca Front, Samantha Spiro, James Smith) enjoying a script full of spiky but affectionate family ding-dongs, in a Royles/Gavin & Stacey vein. When the later episodes introduced classic sitcom plotting - intricate, chaotic, accelerating - Grandma's House got even better.

Radio Times review

Even more brutally self-lacerating than Simon Amstell's portrayal of himself in Grandma's House was this extraordinary confessional from Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

A shapeless, talky, part-improvised thing with the will-this-do premise of the pair touring the north of England to review restaurants, The Trip saw Coogan play a needy, competitive egotist, terrified of career stagnation and depressed by his wrecked personal life.

Brydon, equally bravely, presented a comedian who's addicted to easy laughs, constantly doing impressions to avoid being himself. Yes, it was incredibly funny - a whole half-hour could be dedicated to Coogan and Brydon trading impersonations and improvisations, and many episodes weren't far off doing just that. But The Trip stood out as one of the most uncompromising celebs-as-themselves comedies ever.

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Video: Why did Simon Amstell quit Buzzcocks?

Simon Amstell rose to fame as the cheeky and irreverent presenter of PopWorld, whose sarcastic interview style bewildered his popstar guests.

As the host of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, his venomous wit was legendary and his ability to cut musicians down to size became a defining characteristic of the show.

After winning several awards for his work on the programme, he left in 2009, to the dismay of many fans. He explained his decision to BBC Breakfast.