Good to see some of The Comic Strip gang (Jennifer Saunders, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer) return after a six-year break. They're joined by Stephen Mangan and Inbetweener James Buckley for a cunningly conceived film noir romp featuring Tony Blair as a murderer on the run. Mangan is well-cast as Blair, constantly trying to justify his actions (he's an innocent man, really), while Buckley teams up with Robbie Coltrane's Inspector Hutton in a bid to chase him down.

The Comic Strip have been away too long (six years), and while they've been gone young pretenders (like Star Stories) have moved in on their patch. But for anyone who grew up with their early films, there's a thrill in seeing comedy heroes like Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer and Jennifer Saunders back in the same cast, even if they're barely sharing screen time.

Instead, they all share scenes with Stephen Mangan, who proves perfect casting as Tony Blair in a loose plot - a string of film noir pastiches, basically - about the police (in the form of Robbie Coltrane) pursuing him for various murders. The running gag is that Blair keeps killing people and justifying it to himself as, though regrettable, the right decision at the time.

It's sketchy, in both senses, but Mangan holds it together, channelling Blair as a guitar-strumming twit. Saunders does a great Sunset Boulevard Margaret Thatcher and amazingly, Planer's Peter Mandelson is spot on.

Channel 4's 'Comic Strip' team satirises Tony Blair

Members of the Comic Strip crew, including Stephen Mangan, explain why they've got a certain ex-PM in their sights.

Photos - Comic Strip: The Hunt For Tony Blair

Behind the scenes on The Comic Strip's Channel 4 return with "The Hunt for Tony Blair" - a 50s-style 'fugitive' film noir spoof that airs on Channel 4, October 14 at 9pm.

Peter Richardson on The Hunt for Tony Blair - audio

Comic Strip creator Peter Richardson tells John Plunkett about the cast and production of "The Hunt For Tony Blair".

The Hunt For Tony Blair & The Best Comic Strip Episodes

The Comic Strip returns at 9pm on Channel 4 this evening with a stellar cast including Robbie Coltrane and Nigel Planer, but can it live up to these five classic episodes that changed the format of British Comedy?

The Hunt For Tony Blair review

There was much to keep the brain busy even when the jokes were predictable, and there was always a good bit of slapstick to entertain as well.

Nearly 30 years after their debut, the famous alternative comic troupe returns to Channel 4. Here, new boy Stephen Mangan plays Tony Blair as a film noir-style fugitive from justice, on the run after he's been accused of murder, in a piece that's like Hitchcock's 39 Steps crossed with Kind Hearts and Coronets-style black humour. Alongside him are the old regulars from The Comic Strip's previous films: Nigel Planer as Peter Mandelson, Robbie Coltrane as the detective on Blair's case, with appearances by Harry Enfield and Rik Mayall. Jennifer Saunders almost steals the show by playing Margaret Thatcher as a sexually predatory version of Miss Havisham. At the edge of acceptable taste - is it too early to make humour out of the death of Robin Cook? - "The Hunt for Tony Blair" puts a smile on your face even if there are not many laugh-out-loud moments. This is largely thanks to Mangan's turn as a smooth killer always ready with a voice-over justification about the "tough choices" he has to make, even when murdering an Old Labour homeless man. But despite its satirical digs at our old PM, Mangan's charming performance serves as a reminder of how likeable Blair once was.

Comic Strip Presents: The Hunt for Tony Blair, preview

Ed West previews Channel 4's The Hunt for Tony Blair, a new one-off comedy by The Comic Strip team, starring Stephen Mangan, Jennifer Saunders and Harry Enfield.

Stephen Mangan on playing Tony Blair for laughs

Actor Stephen Mangan is not sure Tony Blair will be watching when he plays the former Prime Minister in a spoof film noir put together by the reformed Comic Strip team.