Tom Binns

EIFF 2018: Eaten By Lions

Eaten by Lions is no doubt warm and funny; the kind of film destined to get a Sunday afternoon TV slot aimed at feel-good family viewing.

Eaten by Lions review

A great cast including Johnny Vegas and Asim Chaudhry bring a good dose of fun to the new British comedy Eaten By Lions, which premieres at the Edinburgh International Film Festival today. But director Jason Wingard can be clunky in his handling emotional moments - which lean towards over-sentimentalised cliché - and occasionally the comic ones, too.

Finding an oasis of calm in a city lost to the Fringe

In the final week, the pressure is on to see the remaining 3,436 shows. Chris Bratt explores the quieter exhibitions for when the crowds get a bit much.

Ivan Brackenbury preview

After an exceptionally long development process, Tom Binns' range of cartoonish characters finally landed their own television vehicle, appearing in BBC One's Hospital People earlier this year.

The idea of a mock-doc set in an NHS hospital might be about as appetising as a plate of industrially steamed carrots, but Hospital People manages to pull it off. Tonight sees the last episode in the series: a warm-hearted affair in which the hospital's various hapless characters (all played by Tom Binns) get it together to record a charity single. The gags may have something of an 80s sitcom feel, but only a churl would begrudge the song at the end.

Tom Binns plays all the main characters in this otherwise formulaic mockumentary. In the abstract that's impressive, but how it benefits the show isn't obvious: the temptation to differentiate his creations by overegging them all proves irresistible. Tonight, Mark Williams is admitted as a wisecracking businessman, fawned over by hospital manager Susan (Binns) and befriended by chaplain and chilled-out entertainer Kenny (Binns).

Hospital People review

Despite this abject lack of a cutting edge there is something enjoyable about this series.

Episode two of Tom Binns's hospital comedy and DJ Ivan Brackenbury causes panic by dressing up as the Lone Ranger for charity. Enter Sian Gibson of Car Share fame as Hilary, head of hospital security, who's charged with implementing a security clampdown. A mockumentary where the plotting drifts but sharp dialogue abounds. Self-regarding manager Susan Mitchell ponders the beds crisis: "Can you look into the feasibility of bunk beds? Just seems so obvious - and fun."

TV review: Hospital People, Episode Two, BBC1

If you want simple sitcom laughs you can't go far wrong with Hospital People.