Hey Diddly Dee

Marc Warren's Hey Diddly Dee [was] a lame comedy about a flailing Andy Warhol musical prepping for its West End premiere. Peter Serafinowicz plays the aging, egotistical star; Kylie Minogue his leading lady and Mathew Horne his browbeaten understudy.

Crammed with creaking theatrical cliches - superstitions and la-di-da luvvies - it treats theatre with patronising contempt. David Harewood gives a corking cameo as the pandering director, but based on this effort, Warren should be banned from coming within 100 yards of a writing implement.

The first in a new series of Playhouse Presents, Hey Diddly Dee was an extremely enjoyable, deliciously dark comedy about a dismal West End production's final day of rehearsals.

Tensions are already running high when obnoxious star Roger Kite (Peter Serafinowicz) denigrates the production in front of the cast, humiliates his understudy (Mathew Horne) and unceremoniously dumps his co-star mistress (Kylie Minogue). But most recklessly of all, Kite threatens the theatre's lucky cat - never a good idea, given the theatre world's preoccupation with superstition and the supernatural.

Writer and director Marc Warren throws in every conceivable showbusiness cliche and mixes them up to fun effect. The story itself gets a little lost, and the ending is confusing to say the least, but the performances from the starry cast are terrific. I particularly enjoyed David Harewood, fresh from being blown up in the series finale of Homeland, as the hapless director trying and failing to keep his volatile star sweet.

Peter Serafinowicz, Mathew Horne and Kylie Minogue star in this comedy-drama about the cast of a new Andy Warhol musical putting up with Serafinowicz's monstrous star turn, until the theatre's mysterious cat gets involved. Actor Marc Warren writes and directs a delightful tale of the unexpected, and Serafinowicz has the time of his life swanning about in Warhol's wig. Another treat tucked away on Sky Arts. Keep an eye on them: turn your back for a second and you could miss a gem.

Mathew Horne: I talked Kylie into being a man-eater

Gavin & Stacey's Mat Horne roped in an old pal to play a saucy actress in his latest TV project - Kylie Minogue.

They gave us Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe sharing a bath in A Young Doctor's Notebook and now we've got Kylie Minogue gyrating to The Velvet Underground - Sky Arts' Playhouse Presents... certainly has pulling power.

In Hey Diddly Dee, a star-studded cast - Mathew Horne, Peter Serafinowicz, Homeland's David Harewood sporting a Brummie accent - find themselves caught up in a theatrical black comedy which trips them back to Andy Warhol's Factory glory days, with a potentially fatal clash of ego and ambition.

Oh, and a scene-stealing black cat.

Marc Warren: There are only 2 things actors care about

Marc Warren, the star of Hustle and Mad Dogs, has made his directorial debut with backstage comedy Hey Diddly Dee for Sky Arts' Playhouse Presents season.

Kylie Minogue, Mat Horne and Peter Serafinowicz? Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. With casting coups including Emma Thompson, Harry Shearer and Daniel Radcliffe, the first run of 'Playhouse Presents' established itself as an amiably eccentric short-drama strand to watch.

This series opener, written and directed by Marc Warren, is a messy curio, but not without merit. Serafinowicz is the stage star with an ego inversely proportionate to his talent; Kylie his vampish co-star with a secret; and Horne the gofer with acting ambitions of his own. All three are brought together under flailing director David Harewood (excellent) for a doomed fringe production based on Andy Warhol's life.

It's an odd blend of slapstick, satire and Twilight Zone-ish mystery, and showcases Warren's direction more flatteringly than the uncertain writing. The pacing and tone are haphazard, but occasional sequences impress (in particular the Warhol 'Venus in Furs' montage which plumbs remarkable depths of intentional awfulness) and the performances just about hold it together.

Preview: Hey Diddly Dee

I don't want to give away the ending, but let's just say it's worth sticking around for.

If we're being honest, the Sky Arts channels aren't usually our first port of call when we're lazing on the sofa with grease from a doner kebab dripping into our trouser-less laps. However, this week marks the return of the rather brilliant Playhouse Presents, a series of expertly-done standalone dramas and comedies. And in a DS-friendly development, the first one features an appearance from Aussie pop princess Kylie Minogue.

She stars alongside Homeland's David Harewood, Peter Serafinowicz and Mat Horne in Hey Diddly Dee, a short written and directed by Mad Dogs actor Marc Warren, telling the tale of a West End Andy Warhol biopic that takes a tragic and mysterious turn.

Marc Warren: I hid in loo after director's stage fright

"You can't go far wrong with Kylie dancing to Venus In Furs," says actor Marc Warren of his TV directorial debut.