Miranda

New sitcom Miranda is the first television series from stand-up comedian Miranda Hart. It's set in Miranda's joke shop, run by Stevie (Sarah Hadland), as Miranda has no business acumen herself. The show has a semi-autobiographical style as she struggles with her boarding-school background, body shape and a mother who's keen to get her married off.

Although very much a traditional sitcom, the show entertains due to Miranda's wit and large helpings of silliness. It also breaks the fourth wall by having Miranda talk directly to the audience in her asides to camera; this is hard to pull off, but it works well.

I warmed to the show because of Miranda's charm and I'd spend more time with her - but please, oh please, don't make me marry her.

Three things make me laugh: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, South Park and now Miranda, a new comedy for BBC2 starring Miranda Hart. Boy, she's a big lass... and funny. And I don't mean whimsical, wry, dark or clever, I mean fart gags, chocolate willies and ludicrous set-ups that deliver great visual gags! It's all rather old-fashioned, right down to the It Ain't Half Hot Mum credits, but I laughed, out loud, a lot. Nice.

Hello from Miranda

Miranda introduces her new show... Miranda.

Miranda Hart stands head and shoulders above the rest

Fact and fiction blur for the BBC's new sitcom queen, who makes a virtue out of being more than 6ft tall.

Stand-up success and great sitcom-writing rarely go together, but Miranda Hart's semi-autobiographical material - posh girl from boarding school struggles to cope with body image, misanthropy and trouser presses - makes the perfect transition. It's like French and Saunders in the early days.