Tom Basden

James Corden and Mathew Baynton write and star in this new sitcom as Phil and Sam, two friends whose dull existences are complicated by the discovery of a strange mobile phone and an associated gangland hostage situation. These wrong men live in a weird grey twilight with a Belle & Sebastian soundtrack: stylish, but potentially at the expense of much actual comic substance. Corden is on top form with an uber-pathetic variation on his usual shtick, though, while the always brilliant Tom Basden plays the guys' nasty colleague.

Spoofing action-filled, big budget American TV series, The Wrong Mans is both sitcom and thriller. Created by and starring James Corden and Matthew Bayton, as a luckless duo working for Berkshire County Council whose blue-collar lives are turned upside down by a chance phone call. Mistaken identities prompt comic mishap as they are drawn into a murky world of international espionage. The supporting cast includes Dawn French, Sarah Solemani, Rebecca Front, Dougray Scott, Emilia Fox, Nick Moran, Stephen Campbell Moore and Tom Basden - the very Best of British.

I've caught up late with Plebs, Sam Leifer and Tom Basden's comedy about three also-rans in Ancient Rome, which turns out to be a likeable enough affair, though you never entirely feel that they get out of second gear when it comes to the writing.

I did laugh aloud when the lads' landlord indignantly accused them of "Thracism" for wanting to get rid of a Thracian tenant he'd foisted on them, but I think that was partly because the line was delivered by the wonderful Karl Theobald. Also effortlessly funny, even when saying nothing at all, is Ryan Sampson as Grumio the slave. Shades of Baldrick - the dimwit's dimwit.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Colosseum

Plebs is set in Ancient Rome, but the sitcom tells timeless truths about life at the bottom of the pile, says its writer Tom Basden

What have Plebs ever done for ITV?

ITV is set to welcome its first new sitcom in years later this month when Sam Leifer and Tom Basden's Plebs hits ITV2.

On this evidence, it's fair to surmise that comedian Tom Basden has some issues with BP: the writer of this week's episode covers the oil industry with a slick of righteous abuse courtesy of the ill-matched housemates. Kingsley, JP and Howard (the latter still subject to an excellent running gag about Lord of the Rings) have their heads turned by BP at a careers fair and find themselves ineptly competing for an internship. All this brings out the eco-warrior in Vod and the lonely neurotic in Josie, while Oregon clashes with a rival as she attempts to launch a magazine. Rufus Jones, so brilliant in Hunderby, makes an excellent fist of the slippery oil exec as the series treads water a little, but in an effortlessly entertaining manner.

Review: Musical Comedy Awards 2012 Final

The Tom Basden-like Rob Carter was something of an unknown to myself and the majority of the audience inside the Bloomsbury. However that is surely about to change, as he deservedly won the competition.

In some instances, there might be a studio audience but they are the best crowd of all: forbidden to heckle and required to laugh. All things considered, it should the easiest gig of their lives. So why do they make it feel like such hard work?

Mark Watson's Live Address to the Nation on Radio 4 was a case in point. We already knew the show was live, since the title told us as much, though just in case we had forgotten, Watson kept shrieking "We're live!" and "This is a shambles!" and remained in a state of heightened panic throughout. His hysteria was slowly transmitted to his co-hosts Tim Key and Tom Basden, whom he kept urging to talk faster, thus removing the wind from their comic sails. Watson had a certain puppyish energy, but he wasn't far off the mark in his hapless assertion: "There's a risk that the show will only be funny for those who are here."

Mark Watson's Live Address to the Nation

Assisted by Tom Basden and Tim Key, Mark's back on Radio 4 to look once again at some of the qualities and character traits that make a person.