Burnistoun

Burnistoun series 1 (review)

Amid the painful nonsense that masquerades under the banner 'comedy sketch show', it's a truly remarkable surprise to have a show like Burnistoun on our very doorsteps.

Burnistoun's Florence & Connell may switch to Channel 4

Burnistoun comedy duo Robert Florence and Iain Connell may move to Channel 4 after BBC chiefs dragged their heels over a decision to put out their show UK-wide.

If you've not seen Burnistoun don't worry - most people haven't, primarily because it's only broadcast on BBC Scotland and thus if you live anywhere else in the UK you have to watch it on iPlayer.

It's a shame, really, because Burnistoun is a very good show. To give you a quick summary of what it's about, the show features a range of different characters played by Robert Florence and Iain Connell in the fictional town of Burnistoun. The most famous characters are Paul and Walter, the owners of the town's ice cream van who always share a moment of high tension.

This week, idiotic Walter got petrified from watching a horror film which turned out to be Jools Holland's TV show, had to deal with a women who wanted to buy tampons and Paul tried to break up Walter's relationship with his best friend - a Breville sandwich toaster. The sketch was just bonkers but utterly brilliant. Bizarre ideas kept building on top of the other until the point that all you can do is drive your van away.

The best way to describe this show is simply 'daft'. Sketches featuring two Kenny Rodgers impersonators falling in love, a rap about shoes being left on top of bus stops, and a trailer for a horror film about a terrifying wee wardrobe are amongst some of the oddities that are on offer.

As said before, it seems baffling that such a show is not being shown nationwide, because it clearly is a hit over the border. For me, it's rather like one of those situations where they try out a TV show on a digital station before moving it over to a terrestrial channel. If it's successful, then it'll no doubt be given more public exposure. I say that, but it already is successful really, so if the BBC wouldn't mind sticking it on in England now I think we'd all be glad.

Burnistoun sketch show review

Over the wall for a little gem.

Kirsty Strain reveals the inspiration behind her career

Kirsty Strain is getting used to being laughed at. As one of the stars of BBC Scotland comedy show Burnistoun, the actress and model is usually on the end of a punchline.

Audio slideshow: The Burnistoun Boys

Iain Connell and Robert Florence, the writers and performers of Burnistoun, take us behind the scenes of the second series.

Burnistoun comedy lads have their eye on Hogmanay slot

Burnistoun comedy writers Robert Florence and Iain Connell have admitted they don't care if they are never picked up by BBC chiefs in London - because they've got their eyes on a prize much closer to home.

BBC boss Mark Thompson's Strategic Review told BBC2 to find more original comedies. The irony is, it's had two good ones this year, but only showed them in Scotland: the dark, one-man maelstrom of Limmy's Show, and now Burnistoun...

Set in a Scottish town peopled by cheerful weirdos and menacing idiots, it excels at taking ordinary sketch set-ups and stretching them a little further than other shows, with a macabre twist or a burst of Airplaine!-ish stupidity. iPlayer doesn't discriminate between BBC2 and BBC2 Scotland, so the whole series is online, even south of the border

Thank God for Burnistoun, a comedy that's actually funny. This BBC Scotland sketch show - which I've warmed to after initial uncertainty - is infused with the kind of invention and sheer likeability. Its writers/stars Iain Connell and Robert Florence are a font of agreeably daft ideas, my favourite this week being the guys trying to outdo each other with tales of their old gangster drinking buddies. More please.

Cable Girl: Burnistoun

BBC2's terrific new sitcom Burnistoun is inextricably tied to its Glaswegian setting - but why is that a reason not to show it outside Scotland?