Bob Servant

Last night's viewing: Bob Servant Independent, BBC4

There are rough edges here, but Cox speeds you past them by the ebullience of his performance, and quite often I found myself simultaneously thinking that it was all getting a bit silly and laughing at it at the same time.

Bob Servant Independent, BBC Four, review

You can't fault Brian Cox's performance as Servant. It's the script and supporting cast that are excruciatingly slow to the punch. What a horrible irony that after all those emails Bob's sitcom also turned out to be a dispiriting waste of time.

Bob Servant Independent: Review

Unfortunately, for a show that is supposed to be a comedy, it fails to raise even the faintest of chuckles.

Brian Cox, interview for Bob Servant

BBC Four's new comedy Bob Servant Independent sees Scots actor Brian Cox return to his roots, says Ben Lawrence.

This crafty political comedy stars Brian Cox - the veteran actor, not the rock'n'roll physicist - who takes on the guise of Dundonian burger king Bob Servant. A bluff, opinionated entrepreneur, Servant is Victor Meldrew meets Malcolm Tucker and, following the sudden death of the MP for Broughty Ferry, he spots the chance to mould the world to suit his own ends by standing as a candidate in the by-election. But alienating Dundee's dog lovers is not the smartest electoral move.

Before you express disbelief at yet another TV vehicle for Brian Cox, this is Brian Cox the one-time Hannibal Lecktor. His character here is almost as antisocial: a burger baron and aspiring MP whose talent for self-promotion is matched only by his foot-in-mouth capabilities.

The first of a three-part series isn't troubled by subtlety, and Cox gives a full-blooded performance as "man of the people" Bob Servant.

Brian Cox plays 'Del Boy's Scottish cousin'

Veteran Hollywood actor Brian Cox has returned to work in his native Dundee for the first time in 50 years. He is playing the lead role in new BBC Four comedy Bob Servant, Independent.

It's always good to see BBC Four beginning one of their occasional forays into comedy: for our money, it doesn't happen often enough. Bob Servant has his origins in a Radio 4 show - this six-parter sees Brian Cox animating the abrasive Scottish cheeseburger magnate as he runs in the Broughty Ferry by-election. Bob's a rich and successful Alan Partridge, a Daily Mail blog commenter let loose in the real world, a man whose only real asset is his sheer shamelessness. In this opener, he launches his campaign with an appearance on a local radio phone-in. It's not an unequivocal success: Bob makes a series of rash promises and manages to alienate the dog owners of Broughty Ferry by appearing to threaten to shoot their pooches. A minor pleasure for now, but something tells us this will be worth persevering with.

Pollyanna McIntosh talks of Bob Servant Independent

Pollyanna McIntosh plays Philippa, the wife and campaign manager of Bob Servant's rival.

Bob Servant Independent (BBC4) began life as a series of books and radio shows about a Dundee burger magnate taking on the world at large, and his first TV outing, in which he is standing as an independent in a local election, suggests he might have done better to stay where he was. Delusional interior worlds are much easier to create - and a lot funnier - when they are done as a series of soundscapes or monologues. Seeing Bob in the flesh diminished him, as it became increasingly difficult to see his extreme vision as absurd, rather than moronic. Still, there were some good moments and Greg McHugh (Howard from Fresh Meat), who played Anders the local radio presenter, is almost worth his own show.