In an election where the Tories, to use Lynton Crosby's terminology, keep dropping dead cats on to the table, here come the creators of Drop The Dead Donkey. As they did with their 1990s news-com, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin have written scripts with gaps, to be filled at the last minute with oven-hot satire. The action flips between various shades of panic on board the Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and Ukip battle buses. A strong cast is led by Ben Miller, Sarah Hadland and the lord high chancellor of topical zingers, Hugh Dennis.

This election satire promises to be so topical, it will only be written in the hours before it's broadcast.

Wherever they aim their comedy sights, it's certainly bound to liven up what's been a distinctly laugh-free election campaign.

What we do know is the show will be written by those clever bods Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who brought us Drop the Dead Donkey and Outnumbered. A ringing endorsement if ever there was one.

And it will star the likes of Hugh Dennis, Trevor Cooper, Sarah Hadland, Ben Miller and Hattie Morahan. So far, so good.

The trailer features the cast as confused, gormless politicians, all effectively scratching their heads and wondering what to say. So it's all looking rather authentic.

The five half-hour episodes, broadcast in the run up to the May 7 election, will intercut between the campaign buses of the four main parties - Conservative, Labour, Liberal ­Democrats and UKIP, who don't really need to be satirised.

On each bus, cameras follow the staff including analysts, interns, IT geeks, social media monitors, empathy consultants (seriously?) and even bus drivers as they deal with the latest crisis or drama. A crisis or drama that we will have only just heard about in real life.

Hugh Dennis: 'I would love to a big straight drama'

Dennis lives in West Sussex, his children go to school in Portsmouth and his wife grew up in the city. Hugh has extended his commitment to the area by becoming a patron of The Kings Theatre on Albert Road - a position he has had since October last year. Hugh says: "The reason I was asked was because I am local, my kids go to school in Portsmouth and because I had done shows at The Kings."

Interview: Hugh Dennis

"It's not good for my image but I like cardigan's."

Hugh Dennis interview

The Outnumbered funny man, 52, on comedy codpieces, his African superstar status and children being the best co-stars.

Hugh Dennis interview

The comedian found fame with The Mary Whitehouse Experience and has since appeared on series including Mock the Week and Outnumbered as well as Radio 4's The Now Show.

Radio Times review

A peach of a series finale, running in real time with Lee Mack in his favourite spot at the bar throughout. Lucy (Sally Bretton) is on her way to a restaurant for a job interview, and if she gets the role she'll be leaving for good. So Lee and Toby (Hugh Dennis) ponder life for Lee without Lucy. Should he run next door and hammer on the window, like Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate? Can he even admit he loves her?

The show's detractors say it's just a heap of puns with no soul. Not tonight. The underlying theme of the lackadaisical joker using silliness as a defence mechanism is blown open. Yet the gags - and there are many brilliant ones - never, ever stop.

Radio Times review

Tim Vine's absence is keenly felt in Not Going Out, but Hugh Dennis's addition to the cast is a shrewd move - he fills a similar comedy foil/sounding board role for those pub chats. But he has a delicious wryness, too, which softens the blokey stuff that goes on elsewhere.

Tonight he's called on, by a very tortuous route, to help Lee torpedo a surprise anniversary party that Lucy is hosting for her parents. Her terrifyingly imperious dad (the magnificent Geoffrey Whitehead, who surely should be knighted for services to both television and radio comedy) hates surprises, while her mum just wants some fun. There's an idiotic phone call involving a fake Italian accent and lots of ludicrous crosstalk.

The ultimate in middle-of-the-road British comedy, the gags on offer here are so predictable they may have you convinced you've got extrasensory perception. It's well intentioned, though, and well into its seventh outing it continues to pull in both rapturous laughter from a studio audience and healthy viewing figures. This week, Lee (Lee Mack) attempts to impress wealthy neighbours Toby and Anna (new regular cast members Hugh Dennis and Abigail Cruttenden) with some tall tales, as flatmate Lucy (Sally Bretton) plays along.

Radio Times review

Hugh Dennis and Steve Punt are the perfect hosts for this satirical minefield of a series. They have done it long enough to know when they are teetering on the edge of a brilliant gag or crossing the line into the darkest areas of BBC Compliance.

But they also have a crack production team to thank for this show's success -- it's recorded on a Thursday evening, editing starts at 9am on Friday and it's ready for broadcast at 6.30pm. And it is also a producer I have to thank for informing me that Hugh Dennis is only absent from this first show and back for programme two.