Pulling

When some well-paid person at the BBC came up with the idea of pulling the BAFTA-nominated comedy Pulling, it was the worst decision since Leslie Ash signed up for a lip job. This priceless one-off, then, will be a (small) consolation prize for fans of the show, as we catch up with miserable Donna, dippy Louise and man-eating drunk Karen.

Brilliantly observed comedy back for swansong

The fools at BBC Three cancelled this acerbic, Bafta-nominated comedy about three single 30-somethings after just two series, so if you could all please turn and blow raspberries in the direction of Broadcasting House that would be splendid.

We don't like to knock the Beeb as an organisation. But seriously, you axe Pulling and keep up with Horne and Corden? There's got to be some serious IDIOTS there. This one-off final episode is BRILLIANT. It exudes quality from start to finish. It's well-written, well acted and sharp. WATCH IT. And write to Points of View.

A paean to Pulling

The BBC didn't appreciate that Pulling was the best comedy on TV - but the final episode on Sunday confirms its utter brilliance.

Shame on BBC3 for axing its best sitcom by far. The only consolation for Pulling's few but devoted fans is a one-hour special to wind up the chaotic stories of our three flatmates and their shoddy boyfriends. As we rejoin them, Donna (co-writer Sharon Horgan) is in an uneven relationship with a yuppie who pretends she's an escort, while Karen (Tanya Franks) is in an even worse set-up, baking pies for a selfish, classically male monster. It's so bad she's stopped wearing make-up. From there, a disastrous plot unfolds. Billy (Paul Kaye) reappears in all his raddled glory and sweet-talks Karen ("You, me, alcohol, narcotics - the old team?") while Karl's return from Italy rocks Donna. The mutual bafflement of the sexes is as richly hilarious as ever. Say goodbye to the blackest, filthiest unromantic comedy you could hope for.

Sharon Horgan's Pulling power

BBC Three is scrapping Sharon Horgan's critically lauded sitcom Pulling, but America, it seems, wants more of her.

Why I love... Pulling

Pulling is the Withnail And I of the Noughties. It's a life shot through drink and bad drugs, a life that didn't quite live up to expectation, regardless of continual rhetoric. In Donna, Karen and Louise, we have the most realistic likeness to the hung-up inhabitants of the post-millenium ever aired.

Sharon Horgan's cult comedy ran for two series, but has been denied a third. It seems it doesn't matter how well received Pulling was, BBC3 is now so narrowly focused on its young audience that there's no place for a show about 30-somethings, even if they are slatternly, emotionally retarded drunks.

It's an intermittently hilarious parade of cartoonish characters and crude, often cruel set pieces, with Tanya Franks particularly salty as an alcoholic primary school teacher. Pulling wasn't a classic, but it deserved more time.

In deeply dispiriting but strangely not surprising news, BBC3 has axed Pulling, a decision that will persuade no one that Danny 'Phoo Action' Cohen isn't a moron. I suppose that without Pulling around, Coming Of Age won't look quite as atrocious but is that really reason enough to axe one of the finest comedies on TV? I suppose if there ever was a third series of Gavin and Stacey, Cohen would pass on that too because every recommission means one less space for a new project. You can only hope that one of Janice Hadlow's first decisions as controller of BBC2 would be to offer a home to Sharon Horgan and Dennis Kelly's marvellous comedy. Good knows it doesn't have anything remotely funny of its own at the moment. Unless you count Jonathan Harvey's Beautiful People. Which I don't.

BBC3 axes Pulling after two series

BBC3's edgy comedy Pulling is to end with a 60-minute special next year after the channel decided not to order a third series.