Hebburn

Opinion: Hebburn Knows I'm Miserable Now

Giggle Beats - and other critics - are wrong about BBC2 sitcom Hebburn, says North East comedian Ben-Lowes Smith... "Hebburn had the capacity to be really funny, were it not for the over reliance on its regionality, coupled with its unwillingness to have a little heart and show a little vulnerability."

Profile: Neil Grainger

A profile of Hebburn actor and stand-up Neil Grainger.

Jason Cook's Geordie sitcom is hardly at the cutting edge of comedy, tending to loiter somewhere around the periphery of The Royle Family/Gavin & Stacey section of the genre. But its heart is in the right place, and Gina McKee and Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves) give well-judged performances that are a delight. This week the clueless Jack demonstrates how not to behave at a job interview, while mum Pauline explains why it's important Jack and Sarah move out of the cramped family home. "They need their own space or they'll end up like apes in the zoo wandering round in circles flinging their poo about," she says. Nice.

Video: Interview with Steffen Peddie (Big Keith)

Speaking exclusively to Giggle Beats, Steffen Peddie talks openly about playing Big Keith in the BBC2 sitcom Hebburn, working on the show with mates Jason Cook and Chris Ramsey, going out on the lash with Vic Reeves and the future of North East comedy.

Jack's off for an interview at the Barnsley Gazette and his sister Vicki, who gets all the best lines, has a new car so she can give him a lift. "I feel like when Cheryl drove that tank in Afghanistan," she muses, stroking her new steering wheel. Her enthusiasm soon subsides when she and Granny Dot get lost and risk missing their appointment at the Wax Hatch. Back at home, Joe (with Vic Reeves in his surprisingly normal dad role) lends Sarah his special fork to clean the hairs out of the plughole. Later, Jack and Sarah break some big news.

There are a handful of laugh-out-loud moments tonight, notably when Jack's sister Vicki showcases her fancy dress get-up as a sexy Harry Potter, but the comic momentum flags a bit. The plot introduces us to Jack's parents-in-law, the Volvo-driving Ben and Susan. Partly the joke is that they're a bit more middle class than Jack's family, who over-compensate by inventing a nonexistent pantry, but partly the joke is that they have no sense of humour. And that doesn't make for a great running gag. "That Ben's a laugh, isn't he?" grumbles Joe. "What does he do for an encore - his tax return?"

Preview: Hebburn - episode 3

Good afternoon. A small nudge in the side for tonight's episode of Hebburn - as Sarah's parents come to town.

Gina McKee interview

Gina McKee - she of the alabaster skin and cool demeanour - is silent on her private life and lets her acting speak for itself. But the thought of Julia Roberts' trousers, or critical acclaim, makes our elegant heroine quite flustered, as Gerard Gilbert discovers.

Hebburn came into its own as McKee took centre stage

Hebburn is proving to be a richly layered and beautifully observed comment on family life and with Gina McKee taking centre stage tonight, this new sitcom couldn't do much wrong.

Hebburn is that rare thing, a good, warm, funny new sitcom. This is tempting fate, but it may remind you of another romcom about a young couple and their families. Yes, the sacred memory that is Gavin & Stacey. It has the same director for a start, and writer Jason Cook knows how to make characters big but believable.

This week, Pauline (Gina McKee) is still angry at Jack for getting married without telling her, while Joe (Jim Moir) has a plan to win her round. Look out for a lovely, understated sight gag involving a fist bump, and some vicious comedy in Dot's old people's home.