Fonejacker

US call for Fonejacker

MipTV: E4's notorious prankster Fonejacker will be heading to the US after Hat Trick International sold both series to Comedy Central.

The sale is a coup for indie Hat Trick, who produce the show created by and starring comedian Kayvan Novak.

The London Paper Review

Despite the Bafta, Fonejacker has yet to capture the attentions of merchandise makers, but you only have to hear the oleaginous 'Good eeeeeevening madam' of conman George Agdgdgwngo - inviting a nice lady to - exchange her passport details for a 'hot beverage at Britain Has Very Much Talent' to know a talking doll is but a Christmas carol away from production.

Prank phone calls - once the calling card of 'wacky' radio DJs everywhere - have taken a bit of a battering in the past week or so.

But what makes Kayvan Novak's Fonejacker far superior (Bafta winning, in fact) are the animations that go with them.

These imaginatively detailed, yet blisteringly efficient little flash cards transport us into the fantasy world where Novak's regular characters - including cockney wheeler-dealer Terry Tibbs and the hugely popular African scamster George Unpronounceable Surname - hang out.

Previously seen on E4, it's pretty much the same gags as the first series but if the joke hasn't worn thin yet, it's as childishly giggle-inducing as ever.

Audio Interview

Kayvan Novak, E4's cult prankster on Fonejacker talks to The Guardian about the art of the wind-up, impersonating Kevin Spacey and why he loves Iran.

Prank-call show Fonejacker has to be the funniest thing on the telly right now. I like the Iraqi man wanting to join the British Army. The recruitment officer is very helpful: he even thinks that Iraq may well be a Commonwealth country.

What, because you occupy it now? says the Iraqi. Erm, we don't occupy it now ... Well, I suppose ... can't really get into all that with you, sir.

It makes you squirm like an eel. But cringing is the new laughing - no, not new, it has been since Ali G, and Ricky Gervais. And this is so beautifully performed - by one man: Kayvan Novak.

Kayvan Novak, the man with the dark glasses, stripey balaclava and serious phone addiction is at it again. Whether you find all his pranks - such as the phone order to a Blackpool florist made from a 'war zone' - hysterically funny or repugnant is entirely a matter of taste.

There are some who find Fonejacker juvenile and offensive, claiming that it legitimises nuisance phone calls.

But for my money, the first episode of the new series still took pretty uncanny potshots at the way we've allowed technology to insidiously creep into every corner of our lives, to the point where identity can be stolen at the push of a button. And it still made me laugh.

The first series of the prank phone-call show divided audiences. Many found the humour crass and the calls lacking in originality. But this second series has some stronger, character-based material mixed in. It's no better than patchy, but that's still a step in the right direction.

A lot funnier than its juvenile concept would suggest, Kayvan Novak's prank phone-call show returns for a second series. Building on the stronger characters from the first series - including dodgy salesman Terry Tibbs, African scamster George and salesman Irish Mike, this outing sees an extended cast and much keener ear for the punch line.

Fonejacker Christmas Special is brash and daring reality comedy with no seasonal goodwill whatsoever in which a practical joker cold calls unwilling victims.