Q&A: Russell Tovey

A brief interview with Russell Tovey.

Week three of this likeable comedy and it's still debatable whether Steve and Becky's reluctance to leave the squalor of their rank one-bed flat is actually a lifestyle choice or merely reflects BBC3's penny-pinching love affair with sitcoms that can be shot on a single set (Ideal, The Smoking Room, etc).

This week our grubby, loved-up slackers (perfectly matched Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani) are getting ready to go to a fancy-dress party where you have to go as something beginning with P.

But there are so many more things they'd rather be doing instead - like squeezing their spots, discussing Candle In The Wind at length and sharing the secrets of the Fringe Wash.

For the full interactive experience, best watch this in bed, eating buttered toast.

I was going to review the first episode of this new comedy last week, but received the wrong DVD, so my panegyric has had to wait: it's beautifully acted (especially by Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani in the lead roles), wonderfully written (by Stefan Golaszewski), and intermittently very funny indeed. Last night, Steve refused to go to the pub to celebrate his 24th birthday, citing a nasty dose of flu when in fact he just wanted to stay at home watching porn. That was pretty much all that happened, but it happened exquisitely.

It's tempting for critics to look for the antecedents of new comedy, which is probably very annoying for those who conceive and write it. But here goes anyway. Him & Her seems to owe something to The Royle Family, in that, within the most mundane domestic setting, it gets its laughs from character rather than situation, powered of course by a terrific script. Also in common with the Royles, Steve and Becky are themselves telly addicts, working their way through the Morse box set. Those little references by television to television can sometimes look glib and self-conscious, but here they work perfectly, and last night Morse came in handy in all kinds of ways, not least as a device to have Steve caught by Becky and their friends as he vigorously played with himself. It was enough to shake the ghost of John Thaw, but only with huge guffaws of laughter.

Review of Him and Her

Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani waste their time and ours in another smut-fest from BBC Three's "Comedy" department.

Stefan Golaszewski's touching new sitcom about what it's like to be young, in a close relationship and a bit slobbish continues. This time it's Steve's (Russell Tovey) birthday and all he wants is to be left in bed. Even a visit from his brooding mother (one of her gifts is a dressing gown with his name emblazoned on it) fails to make him feel better. Laura (Sarah Solemani) doesn't seem that convinced by his illness. Does Dan's password for a website hold the key to his malady?

Last week it was Steve (Russell Tovey) who was keen to cop off with girlfriend Becky (Sarah Solemani). This time Becky's happy to return the favour. "Shall we do more sex, then?" she asks; it is his birthday, after all. But Steve's playing a sickie - even visits from mum Janet, who has a typically prickly relationship with Becky, and an unlikely bevy of acquaintances fail to get him off the bed - and has something else in mind that he can enjoy all on his own...

All this leads up to a final grubby but funny gag that neatly ties up several disparate elements, and which writer Stefan Golaszewski must have enjoyed putting together. What do a Morse DVD, an inflatable armchair, handcream and headphones have in common?

Speaking of romance brings us to Him & Her, a comedy which opened with slacker Steve complimenting girlfriend Becky on her advanced oral skills before a bit of banter on the toilet. So it was safe to say we were not going down the sharp and sophisticated witty banter route.

Instead Him & Her was like snuggling under the duvet for a weekend with toast crumbs rocking up in each and every crevice. It's sleazy fun and, as played by Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani, not without a certain soiled charm. But you'll need a splash of cleansing cold water straight after.

Fresh from making a right mess in Being Human, Russell Tovey returns to BBC3 and, well, makes a right mess in this new comedy. But it's not because he's a werewolf, it's because he and his girlfriend like to doss about their bedsit.

BBC3 is a queer beast - it seems to churn out endless episodes of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, but then also makes the likes of Being Human. Inconsistent is what we'd write on the channel's school report, which is why you're not quite sure whether to be excited by this new comedy, or resigned to disappointment.

However, we're happy to say that this number is far sharper than some of the other alleged comedies (the totally hapless Coming of Age inevitably springs to mind) broadcast on BBC3, thanks to a well-observed script and spot-on performances from Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani as a young, lazy couple.

They're totally in love, and totally can't be bothered to do anything other than slouch around their bedsit, eat takeaways and neck booze. Quite a bit of booze. This is far from the romantic ideal of young, heart-busting, all-consuming love, because that would just be too much effort for these two.

So don't be afraid of BBC3's newest comedy - but if you do invite it in to your home, make sure it takes its shoes off first, because their flat is a right old state.

There's a sheen of rudeness slathered over this sitcom which is almost a shame, because at its heart is a rather lovely relationship between Him (Russell Tovey) and Her (Sarah Sulemani). Their performances are absolutely brilliant and will ensure that people tune in for next week too. The script doesn't quite live up to them yet, being pleasant enough to make you smile but never sharp enough to make you laugh. It really should have She & Him doing the theme tune too.

Russell Tovey & Sarah Solemani interview

On arrival for my chat with Him & Her stars Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani, I couldn't help but notice the fitting nature of the setting.