Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney pick up where they left off: season three opens by continuing the scene in which "Rob" discovers "Sharon" has furtively bought the morning-after pill. Has she cheated? She was too drunk to know, so there follows an almost agonising farce in which two vulnerable characters wonder if their relationship is over. Thanks to Horgan and Delaney's mastery at mixing cringe with rude, roaring laughs, though, it's still a joyful catharsis.

Catastrophe shows no sign of getting any less funny

But the real darkness came in Rob's steady character shift from sweet, easy-going goof to miserable control freak as, out of work and back on the bottle, his frustrations focused in on the possibility of Sharon's disloyalty. His alcoholism has sat like an unexploded bomb beneath the surface of this sitcom until now; the question that seems bound to dominate is whether it will detonate fully and take out the relationship completely.

Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney discuss their comedy

The co-writers, who also star in Channel 4's sitcom Catastrophe, which returns for its third series, wanted to portray a recognisable marriage, not a sitcom marriage, that 'in real life' would end in a 'murder-suicide'.

In bed with Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan

It's an unusual, slightly alarming privilege to be invited to watch a "bedroom scene". Especially given that, in Channel 4's superb sitcom, Catastrophe, the bedroom sometimes feels like one of the few places where married couple Sharon and Rob (writer/stars Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney) don't get it on.

Carrie Fisher: Catastrophe role 'fitting tribute'

Carrie Fisher's role in the third series of Channel 4 sitcom Catastrophe will be a "fitting tribute", say its makers.

Why 2016 has been a great year for women in comedy

From Fleabag and Catastrophe to My Dad Wrote a Porno, women have been having the last laugh, says Ellie Harrison.

With a flittering light finally in sight at the end of the slime-slathered tunnel that was 2016, Jimmy Carr returns to help roast a year that left us all feeling burned. Richard Ayoade, Rob Delaney, Mel Giedroyc, Sarah Millican, David Mitchell and Romesh Ranganathan make up this year's teams, with Jon Snow, Charles Dance and a roster of celebrity inquisitors on hand to posit questions on everything from Boaty McBoatface to Brexit.

Rob Delaney & Sharon Horgan interview

The stars and writing duo behind Catastrophe explain how they smashed together two very different ideas to craft a uniquely honest series.

Women take the comedy throne at Channel 4

Game of Thrones aside, it is the women who catch the eye in Channel 4's forthcoming comedy line-up.