McKellen & Jacobi to be grand marshals of NYC Pride

Iconic actors Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi have been revealed as the 'Vicious' grand marshals of this year's NYC Pride.

Vicious to start shooting series two in January

ITV confirms a filming date for its sitcom about a gay couple in a flatshare.

Vicious series two to be screened on US PBS network

PBS has picked up a second season of Vicious, the Britcom starring Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi as an old, bickering couple living together in a small London flat.

Two acting legends, Misfits standout Iwan Rheon and the promise of flamboyant bitchiness galore - so how exactly did Vicious go so wrong? It could've been fabulous, but instead we were left with an awkward, stilted and - worst of all - tame sitcom that felt like it'd escaped from the 1970s.

Vicious (ITV) - TV review

As with Citizen Khan, the BBC's comedy about a Muslim family in Birmingham, Vicious's problem isn't a lack of political correctness, it's that it features as lead characters members of a group who are usually starved of any screen time.

Nothing much has changed as far as the tone of the comedy is concerned with the order of the day being catty comments dished out between long-time couple Freddie and Stuart

Having sworn off Vicious following the first episode, I decided to give this Christmas episode a go, mainly as there was nothing else on. Unfortunately I felt there was nothing of merit in this festive special and I didn't laugh once during the half hour run time.

The problem was that, instead of suggestive dialogue, the script goes too far and spells out every joke to the point that it's not funny anymore. Despite containing a quartet of experienced performers, Vicious is just a car crash from start to finish and I'm just shocked that there are people still defending the programme. It's just beyond me that Vicious got a second series as I'm sure that we'll get just the same amount of old-fashioned jibe and suggestive humour than we did in this Christmas episode.

Ian McKellen: acting, accents, Damian Lewis & his voice

The Hobbit/ actor thinks he overacted for Vicious's live studio audience and sympathises with gay A-listers who won't come out.

I am a great supporter of this out-and-proud, vulgar and loud sitcom, so it's a shame to report that this festive edition is below par.

Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen's characters, Stuart and Freddie, do little but swish and snipe, and Iwan Rheon is completely wasted as gormless neighbour Ash who, inevitably, bungles their Christmas dinner. So it's left to the women in their lives to save the programme.

Frances de la Tour is in top gear as Violet the man-eater who's recently become a masseuse, while Marcia Warren butts in with the best lines as the forgetful Penelope, who suddenly remembers something very important.

Few new shows split opinion as neatly as Vicious did this year. Some thrilled to the waspish bitching and wilful campery of live-in lovers Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi, best chums Frances de la Tour and Marcia Warren, and strapping neighbour Iwan Rheon; others derided it as dated, offensive and tacky.

This Christmas special won't change anyone's minds. The stars deliver gags as creaky as their limbs but with irresistible relish; there's some half-arsed slapstick; Rheon is underused; and the action never leaves the confines of the flat. In truth, it's a little underpowered this time round. De La Tour and Warren waltz off with the best lines and the wholly familiar narrative - a botched Christmas get-together - doesn't add much to the occasion. But the indulgent and sofabound may enjoy a few chuckles here and there.

Vicious: Christmas special, ITV, review

There was something tremendously likeable about Vicious. You just wanted it to be edgier, crisper and funnier than it actually was. Last night's Christmas special offered nothing but more of the same.