Fresh Meat

Series three, episode eight
It’s like student life. You’re thrown together with random strangers. You make friends, laugh like idiots, do bucket bongs and bond during small-hours heart-to-hearts. Then you moan about the washing up, pair up, grow up and drift apart. This third season of ‘Fresh Meat’ has felt a bit like this process – and not altogether in a good way. It’s as if the writers are trying to keep the first-year fun going, rather than accepting that what once was brilliant has now run its course.

JP epitomises this tail-chasing confusion – he’s no nearer to understanding himself and in danger of being left behind. Jack Whitehall’s character remains the main reason for watching ‘Fresh Meat’ however: his blend of idiocy, neediness and entitlement is still sporadically hilarious. But we’ve long since ceased to care about Josie and Kingsley’s relationship, so the crisis point they reach in tonight’s season finale doesn’t pack much of an emotional punch.

Elsewhere, Vod and Oregon break up to make up and Howard and Candice edge closer to a change in relationship status. Can ‘Fresh Meat’ sustain another series? The performances continue to partially mask the longueurs, but we hope they quit while they’re just about ahead.