Simon Greenall

'Lost Sitcoms' review: 'Hancock's Half Hour'

Entirely studio-bound with only three sets and no special effects or flashy camera tricks, director Ben Gosling Fuller is free to concentrate on the actors and the vintage material they're performing.

Donald Trump's Newzoids puppet is truly hair-raising

The Republican Party's presidential nominee is the first of 50 new characters unveiled for the satirical shows second six-part series next month, as well as Hillary Clinton, Jeremy Corbyn, Adele, Danny Dyer, Zayn Malik and Bear Grylls.

Considering the awful track-record of UK TV characters given their own feature-films, I'm so relieved Steve Coogan's superlative Alan Partridge makes the transition this well. A project that's been rumoured for around a decade, it feels like the spectacular success of The Inbetweeners has made British TV production companies take the risk with a movie--knowing that even a UK-only hit will be enough to recoup low financial stakes.

Alpha Papa works because the situation is definitely something that suits cinema better than television (slightly), but it's not so grandiose that it betrays the character's small and specific pleasures. Alan Partridge has always been more verbally funny than physically hilarious, so it just makes sense to have a story set inside his radio station (North Norfolk Digital) on the eve of a corporate takeover that sparks a hostage crisis when colleague Pat (Colm Meaney) is sacked and loses his mind.

It's a predicament that puts Alan in a comfortable environment (literally "chatting for his life", as hostage negotiator and Pat's occasional cohort), but during an uncomfortable life-or-death week of craziness where he's suddenly a Very Important Person in the public mind. (I'm actually excited to see what the next Partridge product on television will be, as it would be logical for the character to get a career resurgence in the wake of Alpha Papa's events. He would at least get on Celebrity Big Brother, right?)

I'm just so relieved this film doesn't get too much wrong. The jokes and hilariously overwrought dialogue is intact, Coogan's predictably excellent (in a role he's perfected over 20-years at this point), and fans will appreciate the nods to various Partridge-universe characters and events. I especially enjoyed seeing Alan's long-suffering agent Lynn (Felicity Montagu) and "best friend" Michael (Simon Greenall) again, for the first time since 2002's I'm Alan Partridge (incredibly). Lynn gets a particularly nice sub-plot; enjoying being 'pampered' by the police, as someone with an insight into Alan.

Polyoaks (Radio 4, 11.30am), a bitingly topical satire (written by Dr Phil Hammond and David Spicer) on changes currently sweeping the National Health Service, continues with ambitious Doctor Hugh (Simon Greenall) scheming to get on even faster with the powers that be by playing squash. Difficult, as his hip isn't working very well and he hates seeing a doctor.

This brand new sketch show sees The Fast Show and Down The Line star Simon Day perform as some of his best known creations at The Mallard, a small provincial theatre with not that much room in it. If you want an idea on sort of place The Mallard is, it's best put by the woman in charge of the box office admitting to adding the phrase "Must see" to acts because the tickets are not shifting.

This week, Day starred as his Yorkshire poet persona Geoffrey Allerton, reading some of his poems and extracts from his memoir Marking Time. Day/Allerton's poetry is excellent, making humorous comments on inner city life and going to art-house movies.

His sombre childhood memories were even funnier, covering the bad relationship Allerton had with his father. He mentions that his father, "threw a jar of Marmite at me," and that he showed him a picture of a naked woman, or as Day/Allerton puts it, the, "lady with the lower beard."

The show is not just about Day and his character, but also of the regular staff and visitors of The Mallard. There is surly Rastafarian technician Goose (Felix Dexter) who gets annoyed about being given jobs outside of his remit, the Leeds-born boss Ron Bone (Simon Greenall) who mocks Allerton's supposedly posh background, and there are the two posh mothers (Arabella Weir and Catherine Shepherd) talking about the problems of employing a "frog" as a nanny.

This has all the marks of becoming a really good series. Future episodes will see Day performing as reformed convict Tony Beckton and his Fast Show classic Tommy Cockles.

It's the last in the series tonight, with Pete brilliantly managing once again to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This week he has managed to land himself a proper job as a sports writer but only by pretending to be going out with his best mate's girlfriend who works for the same company. And he's also supposed to be mixed-race - which, needless to say, comes as a surprise to his doting mum and dad.

After only five brief episodes we hope this isn't the last we've seen of Pete and his mates. The interjections of sports commentators Colin King and Terry McIlroy (Simon Greenall and Ian Kirby) have provided a fresh twist on the sitcom format and we would welcome a rematch any time.

Putting the "com" into sitcom, Terry McIlroy and Colin King (Ian Kirkby and Simon Greenall) are back with more expert analysis of a Premier League prat. Sex expert Tracey Cox is also on hand this week, to explain the benefits of a certain bedroom technique that Pete and his friends can't stop talking about.

The trouble with this show is that Pete (Rafe Spall) is so thoroughly unlikeable that instead of being the star of the show his tedious adventures are little more than an unwelcome distraction from Terry and Colin's running commentary to the action.

Although it is very funny, if there was a way of just watching these two on the red button - and removing Pete (and his mates' endless stream of annoying girlfriends) from the equation altogether - the show would be much improved.