Back for a fifth helping
FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER C4, 10pm
PEPPING up our Friday nights is the welcome return of the Goodman family, who are pushing on with their weekly meal tradition despite all evidence that they should ditch it and go to Pizza Express.
This is the fifth series of the award-winning comedy, with sizzling on-screen chemistry from Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal as brothers Adam and Jonny, and Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter as mum and dad Jackie and Martin. The format is the same every week – and nor should it change. The boys arrive at their parents’ house for a Friday night dinner of chicken soup, roast chicken and crimble crumble.
Then they must stave off the arrival of various relatives and odd neighbours, namely Jim (played by the marvellous Mark Heap).
Tonight begins in slightly rebellious fashion. Not only are Jackie and Martin in the garden enjoying their new hot tub, but they’ve decided to – gasp – get a Chinese takeaway.
“Are you making a rap video?” says Adam, horrified at the sight of his parents drinking bubbly in their swimwear.
Thankfully, some things remain the same. Martin still doesn’t like wearing a shirt, Adam and Jonny still bicker, and Jim turns up uninvited.
And this time, he leaves Wilson the dog with them to sneak off on a date.
Watch out for Rosie Cavaliero as a woman with a laugh so annoying you’ll want to launch her into space.
From the family’s whispered remarks in the hallway to Martin’s ever-creative curses (“pillocking pillock”), this is downright hilarious.