Reginald D Hunter interview

Reginald D Hunter on weathering controversy, and never planning to upset people...

Eddie Izzard on his Force Majeure tour

"You've got one life, you may as well try and make things last," is how Eddie Izzard explains the ambition behind his stream of consciousness comedy, captured most recently in his 'Force Majeure' stand-up routine.

'The Mimic' TV Review

Most impressive was Terry Mynott's ability to be convincing as a man destined to travel in what his manager admitted was a professional 'cul-de-sac', even when Mynott's talents must surely lead him much further afield.

Derek - Episode 5 review

This episode didn't hit the heights of last week's euphoric beach outing, but, even amid the shambles of the cabaret, the residents laughing at, not with, the "band", rescued by a rap from Deon, the series continues to extend its quiet power, and cement its place in my affections.

Sue Perkins debuted her brand new comedy Heading Out, looking at the travails of lesbian vet Sara, dealing with the onset of her 40th birthday, a new girl on the sofa, a dead cat... and the small matter of not being out to her parents.

The humour was swift-moving enough, with Sara inventing an absent salesman boyfriend for the benefit of the furrowed-brow parents. Not just any old absent salesman, but a French one, who sold prosthetic legs... of course.

As the writer on this too, Perkins packed it all in... ruminations with her cleanliness-obsessed best friend, her dealings with the feline crematorium manager, a disastrous netball match, a sweet meet-cute in the park with an errant dog owner, an equally disastrous surprise party - attended by not one but two potential girlfriends, as well as the aforementioned dead cat.

I had fears that the ever-likeable Perkins, like Simon Amstell in his Grandma's House, would be too familiar a face for us to lose ourselves sufficiently in this suburban caper. But her warm persona transferred robustly to the drama, which was set up perfectly for next week's therapy session with netball soldier turned life coach Toria (The Thick of It's Joanna Scanlan). In a word: Very promising (okay, two then).

Derek Episode 4 review

So, all in all, a triumph of an episode, apart from the initial foray into autograph-selling, which veered dangerously into meta-Extras territory.

Derek's twinkly music set the scene in the customary manner, for what turned out to be the most striking episode yet.

I don't know about you, but I think I've adapted to the slow not-much-happens nature of these 23-minute tableaus now. The three mini-themes of this week included Derek's discovery of an ailing bird, which meant he called an emergency ambulance and had to be bailed out by one of the residents, someone evidently still inspired by his Cocoon-esque turn on the dance floor last week, but equally surprised actually to be given a line to say by Gervais. Who knows - another resident might get a line in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, it was time for Hannah to reassess her relationship with the frustrated Tom, and take issue with some of resident Marge's grasping relatives, clearly only there to lay claim to the ring she still kept on her finger. Cue Dougie (Karl Pilkington) getting himself into a protective rage: "I want to tell Marge, 'Buy gin, bingo, piss it up the wall, anything just so Shelly can't have it.'"

Every week, to KP, the best lines, and they're in safe hands, as he continues to prove himself a surprisingly effective actor, by just being himself - this week popping into people's rooms to collect stuff for jumble - asking "are they really going to miss that?" as he holds up a plastic Prince Charles.

The central montage was as soft and fluffy as anything we've seen yet, with Derek's tears starting to flow... "I'd rather be sad than anyone else," he says after the loss of Marge.

It's a bit weird, though - while Dougie and Hannah continue to reveal themselves and gradually get under my skin, I find Derek himself becoming less and less central to the theme of the show. It'll be interesting to see how this balance pans out by the end of the series - we're already half-way through.

Review: Karl Pilkington is the saving grace

Once again, Karl Pilkington triumphed by taking handyman Dougie's lines and making them his own. When he drove everyone to the library where "some of them don't even get a book", his stoic stupefaction was moving and far more effective than being beaten over the head with Derek's goodliness.

Derek: A compassionate tale, lightly told

It's a testament to his stamp on TV comedy that Derek was instantly recognisable as 'classic Gervais' - 23 sweet minutes that created a distinctive tableau of life inside a small care home.

TV review: Last Tango In Halifax

Last Tango in Halifax provided more heartwarming proof, if it were needed, that romance and adventure need not be the preserve purely of the wrinkle-free.