The Delivery Man

Possibly UK television's first sitcom set in an obstetrics and gynaecology ward, this comes from Green Wing creator Victoria Pile. Darren Boyd stars as Matthew, the sole male midwife at a busy maternity ward. Despite his presence ruffling a few traditionalist feathers, Matthew's chipper demeanour remains unchiselled. A situation certainly fit to deliver, though when an "overweight woman isn't pregnant after all" clunker lands within minutes, enthusiasm may well be curbed. On the plus side, Alex Macqueen impresses as icy obstetrician Luke.

Radio Times review

"I have had the same training as all the women," protests Darren Boyd's male midwife Matthew, a bloke in a very female-centred environment. In Green Wing writers Robert Harley and James Henry's old-fashioned comedy he has to cope with quite a lot of sexism, but doesn't help himself by being quite an irritant, which detracts a little from a sitcom packed with decent lines and excellent supporting stars (Fay Ripley and Aisling Bea among them).

There is also little sense of Matthew's back story - apart from the fact he used to be a policeman - although the signs are that we will be seeing a lot more of Paddy McGuinness as his even more annoying (and slightly unhinged) former colleague and flatmate.

The Delivery Man, ITV, review: 'punchy'

The Delivery Man (ITV) was ITV's latest attempt to create a broad sitcom of its own to rival Miranda and Mrs Brown's Boys on the BBC. And it wasn't half bad.

The Delivery Man review: best ITV laughs in a long time

It's no Green Wing, but for a very mainstream sitcom it's pretty good.

The Delivery Man: woeful ITV sitcom fails to deliver

I kept thinking about what would happen if there had been a sitcom about a woman taking a job that is stereotypically masculine and then being portrayed as completely incompetent on her first day. I personally think that there would be a massive backlash if this were to happen although I don't believe that many people will have the same reaction with The Delivery Man. Of course The Vicar of Dibley had a similar joke at its core but every episode saw Geraldine Granger getting one over on her bumbling congregation.

New comedy saw Darren Boyd delivering unfamilar lines

Darren Boyd has said there were some tricky conversations on the set of his new TV series about a delivery ward as he needed coaching in how to pronounce some of the more intimate terms.

Strong cast star in new comedy from Green Wing team

Fortitude's Darren Boyd takes on a very different role as he is joined by Fay Ripley, Paddy McGuinness and Aisling Bea for new sitcom.

Special delivery: Fay Ripley stars in a new ITV series

"My character is head over heels for Matthew," explains Fay, 49. ""For her sake, I hope it goes somewhere, but she is slightly deluded."