Toby Stephens

No Lucy Punch in the second series of this comedy detective drama. Instead, we have Miranda Spooks Raison's ambitious Georgina Dixon alongside Toby Stephens as laid-back DI Jack Armstrong. She ruffles his feathers as she tries to beat him solving their first case together. More sparks to come, we think.

Away from the Olympics, I'm chuffed to say Vexed is back for a second series on BBC2 (9pm).

You remember Vexed? Oh, well, never mind, it's really good, trust me - a sort of off-beat comedy detective drama, with Toby Stephens as shambolic DI Jack Armstrong and ex-Spooks star Miranda Raison as his sharpwitted new partner, DI Georgina Dixon.

If you've not seen it before, stick with it for a while because admittedly it does seem pretty daft to begin with. Come to think of it, it seems pretty daft by the end as well. That's the whole point.

Toby Stephens 'Vexed' Q&A

You may have missed detective comedy show Vexed when it briefly appeared on BBC Two back in 2010 (for a measly three weeks), but that's okay, because according to its star Toby Stephens the imminent second series is all about "starting again".

The first series of Howard 'Misfits' Overman's cop comedy split the jury. The small-screen policier is a genre ripe for parody, but this new run of Vexed needs a strong start. DI Jack Armstrong's first case is a murder in a car dealership. But let's just say that this is no Fargo. Jack (Toby Stephens) is a lazy, amateurish, slightly dim detective. Tonight, he meets his new partner, Miranda Raison's George who, despite being a woman, is resourceful, intuitive and brave; in short, everything the casually chauvinistic Jack is not. But, amid seething sexual tension on the garage forecourt, can George overcome the handicap of partnering Jack? Vexed falls between two stools. The comedy feels laboured, but there's not enough riding on the case for it to work as a pure procedural. Disappointing.

The biggest mystery to be solved in this police procedural is how it got recommissioned after a widely panned debut two years ago. The format borrows heavily from Moonlighting, purporting to be a comedy drama about a dishevelled detective (Toby Stephens) tackling crimes and sparking off a sassy female sidekick - Spooks' Miranda Raison has stepped in after Lucy Punch jumped ship. Upon examination of the evidence, there's little comedy and hardly any drama to recommend in tonight's opener about a car dealer's murder.

A new series and a new partner for DI Jack Armstrong as this comedy-drama cop show returns. He's not looking forward to meeting George, expecting a strict, rule-adhering man. What he gets is a strict, rule-adhering woman called Georgina. What are the odds, eh? Still, it's a setup that takes mere seconds to get up and running, leaving more time to devote to this week's case involving the murder of a flashy car salesman. The leads, Toby Stephens and newcomer to the show Miranda Raison, have breezy chemistry - more important here than the convoluted plotting.

Quite a few people weren't sure what to make of the BBC's detective-mystery-comedy-thing Vexed during its brief period on air in 2010, but we've been assured by the cast that this second series is a lot stronger - and who are we to doubt them?

Toby Stephens is back as the cocky, incompetent DI Jack Armstrong and this time he's joined by Spooks actress Miranda Raison as DI Georgina Dixon, who is replacing original lead actress Lucy Punch. Only time will tell if the new duo are dynamic or dull - but if Raison can boast banter like that in the clip from series one, then perhaps this could be Vexed's moment to shine.

Toby Stephens interview

Comedy series Vexed returns with Toby Stephens as disorganised detective Jack Armstrong...

Vexed is back in production

How about a bit of good news for the middle of the week? Yes? OK then - detective comedy Vexed has begun shooting the next series with stars Toby Stephens (Jane Eyre, Robin Hood, Cambridge Spies) playing D.I. Jack Armstrong, and Miranda Raison (Spooks, Merlin, Married Single Other) playing new character D.I. Georgina Dixon.

Vexed episode 1.3 review

Here's my problem with Vexed in a nutshell: it wants to have a compelling will-they-won't-they flavour amid the sleuthing, but Jack (Toby Stephens) and Kate (Lucy Punch) have no real chemistry.