Comedy

Rob Brydon guest-stars in this episode and, although this plays on his oft-exploited friendly rivalry with Steve Coogan, he’s more of a straight man than usual. The owner of a rival pest-control firm, he’s hit the big time and left his old pal Tommy Saxondale behind. ‘He’s got everything he ever dreamed of. Married a Boots beautician…’ comments Tommy, with a hint of sarcasm that’s lost on his increasingly endearing sidekick Raymond. Tommy’s allowed to be particularly witty in this episode: ‘It’s so simple a child could understand it,’ he says, before spotting Raymond’s puzzled expression. ‘A gifted child.’ But there’s still room for humiliation. Much as ‘Shameless’ brings its central characters down before allowing them to triumph at the end of an episode, this sees Tommy embarrassing himself by announcing his faulty conspiracy theories in public, before being vindicated in the end. A final witticism plays on both his fanboy leanings and his ability to criticise that very culture – possibly like Coogan himself. ‘ “2001”… yeah, it’s the director’s cut. Apparently it’s a bit longer in the middle. I’m quite curious to see how that is physically possible.’

Saxondale, July 24, 10-0.30pm BBC2 Feature continues