William Ivory

It's a nice spin on a well-worn idea and all credit to writer William Ivory for enlivening it with silly twists, reversals and chortlesome moments. The two stars have a chemistry that makes for easy watching, and they got great support from Dean Lennox Kelly as Hedley, as the young turk who encouraged them out of retirement, and Jenny Agutter as Maurice's anti-crime other half, Barbara.

All in all, The Invisibles is another nice, quiet, heart-warming cup of Horlicks for that under-served generation of viewers who so eagerly took New Tricks to its heart.

The Invisibles: the BBC drama where the inspiration went missing

BBC One's tale of two retired burglars returning to business must have been fun to make - less fun to watch

Common as Muck (BBC1) ended not so much with a bang as a fusillade. [...] The cast was so strong you got the impression of admirable actors, all jammed in a revolving door, which threw one at every episode. It was very much [g=6179]a man's story, cemented with matiness. For that reason I particularly admired Kathy Burke's shining performance as Sharon.

Now, Common As Muck (BBC1) feels authentic. William Ivory, who wrote the series, used to work on the bins. When you hit rock bottom you bounce, and Common As Muck has a lot of built-in bounce.