Tamsin Greig

20 Questions with ... Doon Mackichan

Doon Mackichan stars alongside Tamsin Greig in April De Angelis' midlife crisis comedy Jumpy, which opens at the West End's Duke of York's Theatre tonight (28 August 2012, previews from 16 August).

Chris Morris's scathing satire Brass Eye, Jessica Hynes and Simon Pegg's brilliantly offbeat Spaced, Victoria Pile's gloriously surreal Green Wing - Channel 4, it's fair to say, has reeled out a number of memorable comedies since it launched in 1982. Part of C4's Funny Fortnight, this lively two-hour programme counts down its top 30, as voted for by readers of the station's website. "Rude, radical, and irreverent, over the last 30 years Channel 4 comedy has taken us on one hell of a ride," intones the narrator, with no shortage of hyperbole. Though the tone, of course, is self-congratulatory, there's still plenty to enjoy here, not least the terrific archived footage, which reminds you why these show's have such an enduring appeal. Interspersed with these clips are hilarious insights from an impressive array of talking heads: among them, Tamsin Greig, Sally Phillips, Al Murray, Charlie Higson, David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes, who says about Spaced: "When I think about all the things I've done, that was the most intense, the most fun, the thing I'm most proud of." One caveat: how did a show as derivative as Star Stories make it on to the list?

Tamsin Greig mulls over life's mysteries

Why does everyone want to know what it's like to kiss Matt LeBlanc but not Stephen Mangan? Why do people only want to know about her marriage if it's wracked by jealousy? Why is laughing likely to tip over into crying?

Q&A: Tamsin Greig

'If I could bring something extinct back to life, what would I choose? The steaks I tried to cook on Sunday'

Tamsin Greig: 'Mum poured mint sauce over my head'

The star of Episodes and Green Wing on good manners and eating when you're not supposed to.

Video: Stephen Mangan on emotions and giving birth

Actor Stephen Mangan, who has portrayed Tony Blair and currently plays a pregnant man on the London stage, spoke of emotions in the week when David Cameron's temper and the the "feisty form" of Conservative MP Ann Marie Morris were in the news.

Michael Portillo recalled losing his seat at Westminster - and also claimed there were "extensive similarities" between Andy Murray and Gordon Brown - as he debated political image and emotions with Andrew Neil and Alan Johnson.

The interview ends with the actor talking of his hopes for a new series of Episodes - in which he stars with Matt LeBlanc and Tamsin Greig.

After the unmitigated failure that was Friends spin-off Joey, this British-US comedy threw Matt LeBlanc a potentially dubious lifeline.

In it, British screenwriting couple Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly (Tamsin Greig) are tasked with adapting their subtle sitcom for a US audience but it is rendered almost unrecognisable thanks to ratings-crazed network execs who insist on casting one Matt LeBlanc in the lead role.

LeBlanc plays the floundering fall guy with glee, creating a fictionalised version of himself as the epitome of LA douche baggery.

The success of Episodes' humour lies in its assassination of throwaway US sitcoms, coupled with the ever-so-English pair's squeamishness towards Hollywood life.

It is a risky comeback role for LeBlanc but the risk paid off - just one season in and he bobbed up clutching a Golden Globe.

Episodes: series two, DVD review

Sophie Haslett reviews series two of Episodes, the soft Hollywood satire starring Stephen Mangan, Tamsin Greig and Matt LeBlanc.

This sitcom about a sitcom, starring Matt LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig, has never quite lived up to its sizzling potential. However, series two does end on a high: the marriage of big cheese Merc comes under fire from all corners as he gears up for the Man Of The Year event. Plus Nigel Planer pops up as LeBlanc's lawyer - a union that promises a rich seam of comedy if he stays for series three.

Tonight's finale of this soft satire about the making of a US TV series scurries to tie up loose ends and deliver an emotional punch. As with previous episodes, it's a qualified success that doesn't quite manage to seize its comic chances. There's schmaltz: even Matt LeBlanc's character, hitherto the show's most reliably unsentimental, gives a soppy speech. Having said that, the longueurs of plot are regularly buoyed by great zingers: Episodes' strength is in causing sharp intakes of breath when characters say the unsayable. For example, slimy studio boss Merc believes his sightless wife can actually see the odd shape: "And she calls herself blind?" retorts Merc's lover. "What a b---h!" An amusing climactic scene sees fisticuffs at an awards show, and Nigel Planer delivers a wonderful cameo as LeBlanc's lawyer. At the centre of the maelstrom are Beverly and Sean (played faultlessly by Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan) as the Brits trying to make sense of the amoral milieu and deciding whether to reunite. Episodes hasn't hit the heights of other shows-within-a-show such as The Larry Sanders Show and Extras, but its swipes at Tinseltown score often enough to please.