Warwick Davis

This is, approximately, Monty Python's Galaxy Song extrapolated into an hour-long special. It's a collaboration between Eric Idle and Brian Cox, hung on the somewhat laboured conceit that Cox thinks he is presenting an academic lecture but has, in fact, been roped into a glitzy musical. It has its moments and, naturally, there's a "hilarious" Uranus pun. Robin Ince, Warwick Davis and Noel Fielding also star.

TV review: The Entire Universe

Noel Fielding as a shiny gold Bee Gee singing about gravity? That's just one of the many delights of this truly odd programme which mixes music, comedy and science in a way that has rarely been done before. The Sky At Night this ain't.

Preview: The Entire Universe

The Entire Universe, featuring Noel Fielding - with Eric Idle, Professor Brian Cox, Warwick Davis and Hannah Waddingham - tells the story of the birth of the universe in just one hour. Although social media is already buzzing with anticipation about the show, it airs on TV on 26th December.

Billionaire Boy was a New Year's Day treat on BBC One. Adapted from the children's book of the same name by David Walliams, it told the story of Joe Spud, whose father becomes an billionaire overnight after inventing a new type of toilet roll.

It was very well done - funny, smart and entertaining in the best tradition of classic family comedy films such as Richie Rich or Home Alone, and packed with excellent lines: when Joe commits a minor misdemeanour in the Spuds' new mansion, his father responds with: "Go to your rooms!"

The cast were brilliant, especially Elliot Sprakes in the title role. Catherine Tate was hilarious as the celebrity hand model Sapphire Diamond, Rebecca Front and James Fleet were effortlessly funny as put-upon teachers at Ruffington school (motto: "Doing the best we can"), Warwick Davis was a butler and Walliams himself made an appearance as Mrs Trafe, the world's worst dinner lady, whose offerings included onion mousse, cold pilchard soup and kidney custard pie.

This past week saw Catherine Tate revive the character who first came to prominence for two self-contained episodes which to me felt like a bit of a test run to see if the public would take to a whole series. Based on the evidence of the two episodes that recently aired I would say a full series featuring Tate's Nan character would be extremely inconsistent. The stronger of the two most recent episodes saw Nan attend anger management classes after attacking a blind veteran who was collecting for charity. Although some of the insults Nan dishes out were fairly unfunny, the interplay between Tate and Warwick Davis' unfortunately named class leader Mr Fanee provided many highlights. The episode's final set piece also brilliantly brought together all the many elements of the instalment and was extremely funny. However there were very few highlights in the second episode Knees Up Wilmott Brown in which Nan found herself in a position of power when a property developer was keen to buy up all the flats in her block. Here the insults Nan gave were quite brutal and the constant references to Wilmott-Brown, a character who was in Eastenders over twenty-five years ago, felt very dated. Despite my reservations with both episodes I can't say I didn't laugh about Nan's obsession with Group On or the constant knockbacks she delivered to her amorous neighbour. Tate still gives her all to make the character as convincing as possible and when the gags are great, her delivery is top notch. However, there were too many times throughout the two episodes when the writers fell back on cheap cliches and petty insults which didn't appeal to me at all. Ultimately I do think there's room for a full series of Nan, however the writing has to be a lot sharper and the character needs to develop beyond just being a foul-mouthed, bigoted stereotype.

Radio Times review

Ironically, the season of goodwill might be the only time of year you can get away with comedy as rude and crude as this. There's a panto atmosphere as Tate's misanthropic pensioner returns, in front of a live studio audience, for two new rampages.

Having beaten up a blind veteran in the street, Nan must complete an anger management class or go to prison. This doesn't stop her needling her therapist (Warwick Davis) and bullying the other members of the group. When Tate is on form she can wring a guilty laugh out of anyone; when she isn't and the script falls back on Nan just being nasty, it's the opposite of joyful.

Radio Times review

David Walliams always manages to make his stories entertaining for kids and adults alike. They're not subtle - there are loads of bottom jokes, the message is pretty obvious and the characters are drawn with the delicacy of a sledgehammer. But they do make you smile and leave you with a warm glow around your heart.

In this one, poor, downtrodden, factory worker Len Spud's (John Thomson) life changes when he invents a new toilet roll and becomes a multimillionaire. He gets a new gold-digging girlfriend (Catherine Tate - terrific in a blonde wig with a Geordie accent) and a kind-hearted celebrity butler (Warwick Davis). But wealth can't buy the one thing his lonely son Joe wants - a friend. Walliams couldn't resist making a cameo appearance - as an unhygienic school dinnerlady.

Warwick Davis: Being angry would be a waste of my life

Having transformed from a successful but anonymous rent-a-goblin actor into the host of two primetime ITV shows, Britain's most famous dwarf says he has plenty to be thankful for. So can he pass it on?