"She always follows the latest fashions - we can only hope that one day she catches up to them ..." Miranda Richardson and Anna Chancellor are more than a match for each other as Lucia and Mapp in this delicous, acid-tongued adaptation of EF Benson's 1930s cut-throat world of garden fetes from Steve "League of Gentlemen" Pemberton.

A Steve Pemberton-scripted adaptation of EF Benson's arch novels of small-town social snobbery. Mapp And Lucia may seem to have comedy gold written all over it, but in truth this opener takes too long to get going and, for all everyone involved seems to be having fun, at moments lacks pace and zing. Things improve, however, once busybody Elizabeth Mapp (Miranda Richardson) and regal Emmeline Lucas, AKA Lucia (Anna Chancellor), begin to battle in earnest to lead Tilling society. Continues tomorrow and New Year's Eve.