TV Preview: Grandma’s House

The new BBC Two comedy series starring Simon Amstell continues as ‘Simon’ buys his mother a gift which she refuses to accept.

Grandma’s House: BBC Two/BBC HD Channel at 10pm.

Last week we somehow managed to miss flagging up Grandma’s House as the ‘One To Watch’ for last Monday and we apologise for that. We caught up with last week’s episode over the weekend thanks to the wonder that is Virgin Plus (how did we ever cope without it I often ask) and we spent the entire time laughing. The beauty and charm of Grandma’s House lies in its characters and dialogue rather than slapstick situations and grotesqueness that some comedies opt for – Grandma’s House is in similar vain to “family” comedies such as Gavin and Stacey.

The series also stars a wealth of talent such as Rebecca Front whose previous credits are far too long to list them all. However, her notable credits include the dark and ‘UN-PC’ comedy Nighty Night in which she played wheel-chair bound Cath opposite Angus Deayton as her husband and Julia Davis, who also co-wrote the comedy, as the Cath’s psychopathic and obsessed neighbour, Jill. Nighty Night was one of those comedies you knew, just knew, you shouldn’t find funny but couldn’t help but laugh throughout. The late Geoffrey Hutchings, who sadly passed away earlier this year, is also amongst the cast of Grandma’s House. Fans of Bad Girls will remember him as the long-suffering Bobby Hollamby – husband to Sylvia ‘Bobybag’ Hollamby (Helen Fraser) – the actor was also part of the cast of ITV’s Benidorm.

If last week’s opening episode is anything to go by Grandma’s House could quickly become our new favourite comedy series.

In this week’s episode, the second, Simon buys his mother Tanya a gift which she refuses to accept. Simon is keen to persuade Tanya not to marry new boyfriend Clive who he considers to be dull – and isn’t exactly thrilled he’s been in prison for a hit-and-run accident years before. While Grandpa has news from the Doctor about his cancer scare no one seems to care that its Liz’s birthday.

Grandma’s House stars: Simon Amstell, Rebecca Front, Geofrrey Hutchings, Samantha Spiro, Linda Bassett and James Smith. It is written by Dan Swimer and Simon Amstell.

The BBC HD Channel is available on Sky 145, Virgin Media 108, Freesat 108 and Freeview 50.