Bob Servant: Independent

Series one, episode one
It’s always good to see BBC4 beginning one of their occasional forays into comedy: for our money, it doesn’t happen often enough. Bob Servant has his origins in a Radio 4 show – this six-parter sees Brian Cox animating the abrasive Scottish cheeseburger magnate as he runs in the Broughty Ferry by-election. Bob’s a rich and successful Alan Partridge, a Daily Mail blog commenter let loose in the real world, a man whose only real asset is his sheer shamelessness. In this opener, he launches his campaign with an appearance on a local radio phone-in. It’s not an unequivocal success: Bob makes a series of rash promises and manages to alienate the dog owners of Broughty Ferry by appearing to threaten to shoot their pooches. A minor pleasure for now, but something tells us this will be worth persevering with.