Do the words “British film comedy” cause your heart to sink as deeply as they do mine? Thought so. I wish I could say Beyond the Pole, which is perhaps the first eco-comedy and was made with the intention of raising awareness about polar melting while making us laugh, was worth the effort. Sadly, it wasn’t. It may throw up the odd chuckle, but mostly it’s predictable and unoriginal. The scenery, however, is stunning.Beyond the Pole was originally a Radio 4 series and its co-writer Neil Warhurst wrote the screenplay. The film's co-writer and director David L Williams, who filmed it on the Read more ...

Born out of the spurious Radio 4 phone-in show Down The Line, created by Fast Show veterans Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson, Bellamy’s People takes bogus broadcaster Gary Bellamy out on the road and in front of the cameras to meet his public. On Radio 4 (before being unmasked as a spoof), Bellamy was bombarded with angry listeners decrying his sexism, racism and all-round witless stupidity.As portrayed on telly by Rhys Thomas, Bellamy seems slightly less likely to suffer a fat lip, and is a subtly calibrated mixture of vanity and ingratiating chumminess. Yet, as he trundles ostentatiously Read more ...

Jan Ravens is probably best known for several series of Dead Ringers, broadcast first on Radio 4 then BBC2, when she voiced all the female characters from Kirsty Wark and Fiona Bruce to Ann Widdecombe and Nigella Lawson. Before that she was part of the Spitting Image team, appeared on Alexei Sayle's Stuff and in sitcoms No Frills and The Grimleys. She has also appeared in 2DTV and Alastair McGowan's Big Impression.She was a member of Cambridge Footlights and directed the The Cellar Tapes, the revue whose cast included Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson and which was Read more ...