Camping (2016)

Julia Davis's sublime comedy concludes with a painfully awkward double bill, as Robin's birthday finally arrives and the camping trip from hell comes to a shuddering, regretful end. Frustrations boil over between recovering alcoholic Adam and the painfully cowed Kerry over his increasingly blatant flirtations with Fay. But it's when Fay's secret stash of drugs comes into play that things get out of hand, with home truths and sexual experimentation emerging.

The final two episodes of this horrifying, uncomfortable, but utterly brilliant sitcom go out tonight. The previous four have produced flinches, cringes and desperately awkward moments but tonight's go completely off the scale! It lurches into violently bleak territory this evening, so be warned: if you already found Camping painful, tonight you might actually require some Ibuprofen.

Robin and Fi host a party in the barn to celebrate his birthday and mark the end of the camping holiday. Despite the innocent cake, pop music and party hats, it descends into utter depravity, becoming like a drugged-up version of The League of Gentlemen.

And there's a surprising amount of full-frontal nudity involved, though not from the hunky Adam or good-looking Fay. It's from the creepy and nameless little man who owns the campsite: he bursts out of the shadows tonight in his perverted, naked, gasping glory when Fay's drug supply loosens everyone's inhibitions and unleashes an animalistic chaos. I felt wonderfully shocked and shaken by the time the credits rolled. Bravo!

Preview: Camping, Sky Atlantic, episodes 5 & 6

Don't be fooled by the jaunty sub-Mumfords music at the start of episode 5. Julia Davis' comedy-drama comes to a head in all sorts of horrendous ways in these last two instalments.