Sue Johnston

The Cockfields: the Royles with a middle class makeover

Thank gawd it's not just my family, then. The Cockfields (Gold), a three-part sitcom about a bloke taking his girlfriend home to meet his parents, is crammed with lines so true to life, it sometimes felt like a documentary.

TV review: The Cockfields, Gold

I've only seen the first episode though - maybe everything goes pear-shaped in the next two parts. I'll certainly be watching to find out.

TV review: The Cockfields, series 1, episode 1

I can't wait to see what happens to them next, even if it isn't very much at all.

The latest addition to the Meet the Parents subgenre, this new Mike Leigh-flavoured three-parter sees Joe Wilkinson ferry new girlfriend Diane Morgan over to the Isle of Wight for what will prove an interminably long weekend at his folks', the ever-reliable Sue Johnston and Bobby Ball. Cue the casual bigotry.

The Cockfields review

Joe Wilkinson has become known as the weird one on panel shows such as 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown. But in this all-too-relatable three-part comedy, he actually turns out to be the normal one at the centre of other people's oddness.

The Cockfields, episode 1 review

A well-observed, gently addictive gem.

Joe Wilkinson brings girlfriend Diane Morgan to the Isle of Wight to meet the parents in this three-part series. It is a well-trodden format but mum and stepdad Sue Johnston and Bobby Ball are cringe-inducingly funny as they negotiate spare beds for the couple and put on a bad lunch. Sitcom splendour from co-writers Wilkinson and David Earl.

West End's The Man in the White Suit to close early

The Man in the White Suit will close its run in the West End a month earlier than planned, with producers blaming weak ticket sales.

The Man in the White Suit review at Wyndham's Theatre

Sparky performances but laboured staging.

The Man in the White Suit, review

Stephen Mangan anchors this genial but muddled farce.