W1A

Radio Times review

Radio Times Top 40 TV Shows of 2015, #36:

TV continued to eat itself in 2015, as the BBC's satire on the BBC returned for a second, hilarious series. It was certainly bold. A month after Jeremy Clarkson was sacked by the Beeb, the first episode dealt with the Top Gear furore by portraying the Corporation as having banned Clarkson's name. Elsewhere, it was business as usual as marketing speak and the BBC's own talent for creating nebulous job titles were skewered with rapier wit. Hugh Bonneville headed the cast as Head of Values Ian Fletcher, but the ensemble was so strong that all should be praised equally.

BBC or W1A - can you tell the difference? Quiz

Can you tell the difference between spoof plots and actual Beeb statements or gaffes?

A part in W1A would be knockout, Prince Edward decrees

It feels like only 28 years since the prince's Grand Knockout Tournament. Surely the BBC show could do with a lift from his comic genius?.

DVD review: W1A series 1 and 2

It is admirable that the BBC has produced something that is so critical of itself. However, in general, too many of the characters either speak in catchphrases ("I'm not being funny but...") or obstructive cliches (responding to a question with an unhelpful "brilliant" rather than answering it) that it is sometimes as frustrating as the media world it predicts. Otherwise and I'm not being funny or anything but it's all good.

BBC bashers keep comparing everything to W1A

It's been a busy week of BBC bashing in the media and it seems anybody and everybody doing so is duty bound to liken everything to a scene from BBC comedy W1A.

W1A: series 2 review

With a script consisting of quick, quirky and snappy lingo together with 'buzz' words that one would associate with many industries and sectors, the second series of W1A has completed a four episode series and the show is certainly getting 'stronger' and indeed 'better'. There's a royal visit thrown in for good measure, too - with hilarious consequences.

We love W1A, but is BBC wise to lay bare foibles?

The gloriously self-mocking comedy is a sign of the corporation's maturity. But in the current climate, it could be a godsend for detractors.

This week, Hugh Bonneville's Ian Fletcher and his team are tasked with tackling "inclusivity targets" for a cross-parliamentary watchdog; soon the acronyms are flowing like skinny soya macchiatos. BBC London's hirsute new weather presenter Sadiq Iqbal proves key to Bame - black, Asian and minority ethnic - targets, so he's "viralised" by Siobhan, using the hashtag #beardyweather, to highlight his ethnic credentials. However, Sadiq isn't particularly happy to be trending nationwide.

Radio Times review

Ian Fletcher, the BBC's head of values, knows how to set aflame the hearts of his female colleagues. In Twenty Twelve, as head of Olympic deliverance, he was the object of his secretary Sally's silent devotion.

Now he's taken the fancy of brutal Anna Rampton (Sarah Parish) and personable, sensible Lucy Freeman. Both women cast covetous glances at the hapless chap in the final episode of John Morton's knowing sitcom.

Ian's (Hugh Bonneville) well disposed to Lucy (Nina Sosanya) but there's little time for romance when a perfect storm of nonsense involving a BBC London weather man and a female presenter blows up and threatens to engulf the management team. It's all Siobhan's fault, of course.