Tom Rosenthal (I)

Maybe it's the fact that togas are just so darn saucy but there's something irresistibly comical about Ancient Rome. In the noble tradition of Up Pompeii!, Plebs (ITV2) is the latest sitcom to play the old Empire for laughs. And titter I did.

It could afford to up the raunch factor, with opening episode The Orgy surprisingly shy of flesh. But Tom Rosenthal's central character, Marcus, makes a sweet prude amid a sea of debauchery and his servant Grumio (Ryan Sampson), surfing a wave of northern camp, is a guaranteed scene-stealer. 'You never see a dog with a towel,' he observed of his drip-dry post-shower regimen. Fair point.

The cultural connection between Ancient Rome and classic ska and reggae is lost on me, but oddly it's an inspired one, with tunes such as Double Barrel by Dave & Ansel Collins giving the action a sun-kissed spring. And any show that chops Danny Dyer's head off has to be worth a second look.

Plebs is a bit like the spawn of The Inbetweeners and Up Pompeii, but set in ancient Rome to a soundtrack of ska classics, presumably for added anachronism. Friday Night Dinner's Tom Rosenthal is neurotic, uptight Marcus, Trollied's Joel Fry plays dufus Stylax, and Ryan Sampson is their dull-witted Manc slave Grumio, while Doon Mackichan adds class as the boys' ruthless boss Flavia. The first instalment finds them trading their grocery budget for orgy tickets, while Danny Dyer, of all people, turns up as gladiator Cassius in episode two.

More Horrible Histories than Up Pompeii!, this tunic-and-sandals sitcom pitches 21st-century sensibilities into the streets of Ancient Rome for a forum full of fun with ordinary blokes Marcus and Stylax, a pair serviced by grumbling slave Grumio. In the double-episode opener, Tom Rosenthal's Marcus - think The Inbetweeners' Will - is throwing himself at glamorous new neighbour Cynthia (Sophie Colquhoun), while Ryan Sampson's Grumio (Baldrick, by any other name) is in a grump over dog poo. Add in Doon Mackichan as whip-cracking boss Flavia, whose idea of disciplining her workforce is inviting herself along to an orgy, and it's a saucy dollop of fun.

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Tom Rosenthal on Roman orgies

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Rest assured, Plebs is not about Andrew Mitchell and "Plebgate". Instead it might be described as a gentler take on The Inbetweeners - but set in Ancient Rome. At first glance it works because the characters are likeable, the jokes mostly work as does the "yoof" vocabulary. The "plebs" are Marcus (Tom Rosenthal) and Stylax (Joel Fry) and their slave Grumio (Ryan Sampson) and in the opener the neurotic Marcus decides an orgy might be good place to go for a first date.

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