Hebburn

Hebburn wins regional RTS award

BBC2 sitcom Hebburn has won Best Drama Production at the RTS North East & Border Centre Awards.

Jason Cook interview

You may have seen that Hebburn, BBC Two's hit Geordie sitcom, has been recommissioned for a second series. We coincidentally had a chat with creator and plays-Ramsey-actor Jason Cook a couple of weeks ago, which we've just dug out to give a feel of where the show might go next, as well as an update on his plans for a local festival...

Hebburn show 'a waste of money' says councillor

A BBC Two comedy show set for a second series has been branded "a waste of money" by a councillor from the South Tyneside town the show is based on.

Steffen Peddie was lard of the ring

Steffen Peddie has revealed he was a professional wrestler before finding fame on hit sitcom Hebburn.

Is a Hebburn Comedy Festival on the horizon?

The man behind BBC2 sitcom Hebburn is hoping to bring more comedy stars to the now infamous North East town.

The sitcom wedding is a signature event that can often be mishandled, but the final instalment in Jason Cook's series brings both light and shade to Jack and Sarah's nuptials, only occasionally teetering on the tightrope between heartwarming and sappy. And, as it's second time around for the happy couple, the pressure is on: Pauline is baking a 'fruity skyscraper' and Sarah's mum brandishes her snobbery like a crucifix as she enters the Geordie heartland. The emotional sucker-punch at which the show has sometimes hinted does come, albeit from an unexpected source - another example of Hebburn threatening comforting predictability, only to give it a gentle swerve. Even so, over the course of the series, a few tricks have been recycled a few too many times (especially the camera pan to reveal an unexpected eavesdropper), but we'd still welcome a second series of this sleepiest of sleeper hits.

It's the eve of Jack and Sarah's repeat-wedding and, as Jack's fun-loving sister Vicki warns, "There's always an argument at a Geordie wedding." Except, that's not what transpires in this final episode.

This series has a likeable way of setting up a comedy premise and then ambling off in a different direction entirely. The route the plot goes turns out to be oddly moving, though not quite for the reasons you'd expect.

And as the menfolk gather at Swaze's for a pre-service pint, club singer Gervaise has an idea: "I was thinking of doing Ave Maria at the wedding, what with Sarah being all Jewish and that," he suggests. "It won't be tacky, man - I'll do it with a bossa nova beat."

This North East-set sitcom bows out tonight with a wedding-themed episode, giving rise to hackneyed jokes about ugly bridesmaids' outfits and warring mothers-in-law. Hebburn aims for Gavin & Stacey-style provincial quirkiness with a bit of Royle Family vulgarity thrown in, but hasn't quite found an original voice, and settled for warm-hearted predictability instead. Gina McKee, as tough cookie matriarch Pauline, has been the best thing about it.

Chris Ramsey - Geordies get a raw deal on TV

Geordies get a raw deal on the telly, according to Hebburn star Chris Ramsey.