Ideal

Ideal finally coming to iPlayer after almost 19 years since it debuted

The cult BBC sitcom Ideal is coming to iPlayer...13 years after its finale aired on BBC Three.

Johnny Vegas on 'Ideal' axe: 'I was really cross'

Johnny Vegas has admitted that he was "really cross" when Ideal was axed.

Johnny Vegas blasts BBC3 exec over 'Ideal' axe

Johnny Vegas has hit out at BBC Three controller Zai Bennett over the axing of his sitcom Ideal earlier this year.

Ideal: The Red Mist

Okay, you might want to stand back, because I am about to stick my neck out. I am going to do it by saying this; I believe Ideal is the most ethnically diverse programme on British TV. Our huge cast of characters encompasses Black, Asian, Caucasian, Mixed-Race, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, American, Greek, Russian, heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and blind. We even have a recovering necrophiliac.

Ideal: What's inside the red bag?

In tonight's episode of Ideal, there's a scene where the pregnant Yasuko (Haruka Kuroda) is sitting alone in Moz's living room. She glances up, only to see a woman in a long, flowing, black latex dress standing upside down on the ceiling.

Moz's pursuit of Tilly continues tonight as he goes along with her misapprehension that he's a conceptual artist. She arranges an exhibition for him with genuinely hilarious consequences. Meanwhile, Nikki's sister Jess decides to experiment with ketamine. Great idea when your boyfriend's got a plastic cartoon mask for a face. If you've never seen it, Ideal is like the fire alarm's gone off at Bedlam but with tightly scripted gags and satisfying narrative arcs. And if you still haven't seen it, do something about that now. You won't regret it.

Ideal: Music behind the magic

Tonight's episode of Ideal, aside from hopefully being funny and moving and quite scary, will also be mightily tuneful. The soundtrack to this particular episode features contributions from, amongst others, Broadcast, DJ Kudos, The Frequency, Slipstream, Warpaint, Barry Adamson, Clinic, Misha Begley, Venus Ray and Coil.

The most consistent sitcom currently on British screens reaches its 50th episode tonight. With Moz and Nikki now rival dealers on the same patch, they decide to unite against the looming threat of The Red Mist. Meanwhile, things get complicated over at Carmel's brothel when her ex-pimp turns up unannounced. Even after all this time, they manage to keep things fresh with the introduction of a ridiculous new enemy; a bunch of people in ginger wigs who move silently around the tower block.