From Spitting Image to Dead Ringers, satirising powerful public figures through mischievous impressions has been a popular shtick among British comedians. But Channel 4's new sardonically named sketch show, led by able newcomers Morgana Robinson and Terry Mynott, subverts the familiar blueprint. Like Bo Selecta's less surreal cousin, it opts to target C to Z-listers - products of ITV2 celebrity filler, the blogosphere and reality TV.

By design, this is a dangerous game, often relying on an audience obsessed with the kind of inane "celebrity" culture it seeks to send up. So while it's just about possible to relate to a sketch involving ex-EastEnder Natalie Cassidy in a faux reality show called I'm Doing This Now - "just hosing down the bins, really" - a mocked-up musical with Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon falls flat.

Ultimately, it's the humour involving better-known subjects - including uncanny impersonations of Gordon Ramsay and David Attenborough - which keeps Very Important People afloat. It's a brave experiment, taking a deserved swipe at vacuous popular culture norms. But will people see the funny side?

David Walliams shows Stacey Solomon tattoo of her face

Saucy David Walliams makes singer Stacey Solomon squeal by showing her a tattoo of her face - on his behind.

Another Monday; another hour of Alan Carr squawking at celebrities in the name of light entertainment. This week, the guests included Cheryl Cole, Michael McIntyre and the unfathomable loudness of Stacey Solomon, all of whom were surrounded by tinsel and general festive tat, just in case we'd forgotten that Christmas was almost upon us.

Jungle queen Stacey and jungle profanity-provider Shaun Ryder appeared first on the show, covering such topics as Gillian McKeith and Solomon's disastrous appearance on the X Factor final.

The questions were rightly light-hearted and as the always-watchable McIntyre came on to talk about his impending Britain's Got Talent gig, the show became even more festively cheery.

All that energy seemed to rub off on our host, as his pre-chat stand-up was on much better form than last week and he generally seemed less nervous, bouncing off his sprightly guests.

But what would happen when the omnipresent Ms. Cole came on stage? Could she maintain the energy of the programme? It seemed unlikely, given her propensity to talk at a speed suggestive of strong sedative consumption.

Sure enough, once an ill-advised acoustic performance of one of Cheryl's songs was out of the way, the show got bogged down in conversation about X Factor controversies. As Cole (very slowly) defended herself, it all became a bit bleak, but she soon perked up and though she did discuss her brush with malaria, not a single tear was shed.

This show is only ever going to be as good as its guests and tonight it was very good indeed.