Vicious

Video: Behind the scenes on sitcom Vicious

Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi talk about working on ITV sitcom Vicious, where the pair play a gay couple who constantly snipe at each other.

PBS to air Vicious in America

British sitcom Vicious will be shown on PBS in America in 2014.

Vicious is cliched and outdated, says Barry Cryer

Veteran comedy writer says show about an ageing gay couple would make John Inman look restrained.

Vicious (ITV) exited as it entered, a high-camp frolic with Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi hamming it up like there was no tomorrow. The unapologetic portrayal of old-school gayness got up noses in some quarters, cited as evidence that TV has still not embraced sexual equality. Queerly, to me, it felt like the exact opposite.

The existence of Vicious seemed to suggest that TV was comfortable enough in its own skin to not give two figs about only showing a politically correct approved version of gay lifestyles.

Freddie and Stuart were riotous throwbacks, bitchy old queens from another era, but in between the barbs and the one-liners, these were recognisable characters. To deny their existence would surely be the politically incorrect thing.

Taken on its own level as a tribute to the old tradition of West End farce, McKellen and Jacobi's Vicious was worth a cheap laugh, an added treat being the presence of Marcia Warren and Frances de la Tour, who really should have a show of their own. And how refreshing to have a man in his seventies tell his mother-in-law: 'You're old, you're eating buttons.' Now that's anti-ageism.

The waspish insults are flying around with gay abandon as cranky lovebirds Stuart (Derek Jacobi) and Freddie (Ian McKellen) hurtle to the end of this camp caper with a party to celebrate their 49th year of bitchy bliss. Drama queen Freddie harbours fond notions of Dame Judi Dench turning up for the festivities. After all, they once spent 12 hours eating chocolates together on a sweeties ad. As for Stuart, young neighbour Ash has put him in a really tight spot...

The sitcom goes out with a splash of vitriol as Stuart and Freddie mark their 49th anniversary with an impolite gathering.

Freddie has invited Judi Dench (they made a Smarties advert 50 years ago) but no one imagines she'll show up; while Ash has inadvertently asked along Stuart's ancient mother who still doesn't know they're gay. Stand by for the tartest episode yet.

Though never quite as outrageous - or funny - as advertised, the first series of this ITV sitcom has remained watchable thanks to the hammed-up, camped-up performances of its leads Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi. The final episode of the show's current run is on Monday and features another high-profile thesp in Judi Dench.

Vicious - a depiction of gay love?

It's safe to say that, like it or loathe it, Vicious has been one of the most talked about events by LGBT media of terrestrial TV in 2013.

This is the strangest episode so far, as Stuart (Derek Jacobi) and Freddie (Ian McKellen) invite young Ash (Iwan Rheon) and his new girlfriend Chloe (Alexandra Roach) to dinner and then behave abominably towards her.

Trouble is, Chloe is lovey-dovey, airy-fairy, vegan and teetotal - in short, incredibly annoying - but before long the wicked pair have brought out her own vicious streak. I don't want to oversell the comedy, because a lot of it is lame, but the tone veers towards Joe Orton.

This is also the show to turn to if you've longed to see Frances de la Tour (Violet) handcuffed to a bed in Argentina dressed in PVC bondage gear. Any takers?