Watson and Oliver

Series two, episode one
It was a surprise when, after a first series of declining ratings, Lorna Watson and Ingrid Oliver’s sketch show got a second run. But whatever re-evaluations may have taken place behind the scenes, this is still daftness of a pretty conservative bent: Franglais; the perils of personalised ringtones; a ‘Call the Midwife’ pisstake.

When a skit does brush the boundaries of good taste, it creates a genuine frisson of risk and invention missing from much of the rest of the show: a rough sleeper inviting a potential beau home, for example. And a stricter editor would have made for a pacier show, as potentially snappy ideas (‘realistic cooking’) are dulled by overlength. Accomplished performances once more, but the material lets them down.