Simon Brodkin

Since binning off being a doctor to spend his career in sportswear, Simon Brodkin has made a decent living from being south London ne'er-do-well Lee Nelson. This new series showcases a few more of his characters, including his footballing stereotype Jason Bent, sleazy GP Dr Bob and a Geordie chef. In this first episode, Lee discovers the benefits of living in the dark, Bent meets his team's new Spanish manager, while the Geordie chef prepares a most unconventional duck à l'orange.

Simon Brodkin revives his divisive Lee Nelson character, as one of dozens of alter egos in a new sketch show. It's crass: a well-intentioned satire on church homophobia is slightly ruined by Brodkin playing an African preacher, in blackface; and the Nelson skit sees him pretend to be blind so he can grope a woman, a routine Benny Hill might have thought was a bit basic. Brodkin's performances, for example when he easily sustains a monologue by a gangster who's taken over a failing school, offer some glimmers.

Evidently not satisfied with the untold misery that his awful and ironically named Well Good Show inflicted on humankind, Lee Nelson has returned with a new offering to crush your will to live in the form of Lee Nelson's Well Funny People. From his racist policeman to his gangster headmaster, his Geordie chef to his African priest, and 'old favourites' Jason Bent and Chris from Kavos, this is a mindless, scattergun approach to comedy which is depressingly predictable and incredibly dated.

There's nothing wrong with using stereotypes, as long as you subvert or do something clever with them, a fact which seems to have escaped writer/performer Simon Brodkin's attention. He may have good energy and love doing an accent, but there isn't nearly enough here to redeem this latest lowest common denominator offering from BBC3.

South London chancer Lee Nelson (the well wickid innit bruv creation of comic Simon Brodkin) takes no prisoners with his opening routine. The death of his grandad, dogging, his crush on the Little Mermaid - nothing is off-limits, and Lee is such a cheery, shouty, in-your-face caricature, he can get away with anything, more or less.

Tough act to follow? Not for Canadian one-liner merchant Stewart Francis, who won the prize for funniest joke at this year's Edinburgh fringe: "You know who really gives kids a bad name? Posh and Becks."

Video: Lee Nelson visits Oxford University

The well good Lee Nelson (Simon Brodkin) paid a trip to Oxford University recently - to speak at the Oxford Union, no less. But what exactly did he make of the town (and gown)?

Lee Nelson's Well Good Show, if nothing else, cannot be accused of lacking energy. Simon Brodkin commits himself unreservedly to his comic creation, bounding around in an exuberant, uninhibited blur. If only some of that energy could have been utilised in the writing. This episode, ostensibly on the theme of family, but in reality lacking anything approaching a form or structure, is characteristically lazy and unimaginative, forever opting for the cheap gag over something sharp and subversive, while Brodkin's attempts at improvised interaction with the audience fall horribly flat.

Just what's needed after endless images of kids rampaging through the streets: a portrayal of a south London geezer from a housing estate that's nicely non-threatening (though he does diss the community support officer in the opening credits for a touch of street cred and a cheap laugh). Such is the comic construction of Simon Brodkin, anyway, who is back as Lee Nelson for a second series of studio tomfoolery and sketches. It's all pretty daft and probably funnier after a night in the pub, but it also feels terribly dated and wouldn't look out of place on an early Harry Enfield show.

A night of stand-up from the Edinburgh Festival. Online and interactive links mean viewers can even heckle performers. Our hosts are Lee Nelson (a character played by comedian Simon Brodkin), Russell Kane (who won the award for the Fringe's best stand-up last year) and Charlie Baker.

Interview: Simon Brodkin

Hoodie? Check. Baseball cap? Check. Trackie bottoms? Check... Yes, it's Lee Nelson, mouthy South London geeza in a blue baseball cap.