It’s the truth, quickfire panel show is as funny as ever

Would I Lie To You? BBC1, 9.30pm

CHILDREN are brought up not to lie, and most people rightly condemn dishonesty.

But despite that, it is also widely considered that lying can be acceptable, if there’s a good reason for it.

Take this series for example – 12 years of fibbing for the sake of comedy has led to Would I Lie to You? becoming one of the funniest and best-loved panel shows on TV.

And it just wouldn’t be the same if it was a programme about celebrities coming clean Would I Tell the Truth to You? doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it?

Tonight, Rob Brydon returns to present the show, alongside regular team captains Lee Mack and David Mitchell.

Like a lot of TV shows, WILTY is built around class difference more than anything else.

Lee and David are like a couple of boys in the playground at times.

Working class Lee knows Oxbridge hoity-toity David is a bit more intellectual, and a lot posher than he is, and responds with a bit of banter and at times, bullying. David doesn’t mind it and plays up to his role – the class swot who knows nothing about, and cares little for, any kind of popular culture.

The pair are like a cranky old married couple, constantly bickering, talking over each other and trying to finish each other’s gags.

Then there’s host Rob Brydon, the kid who wasn’t especially academic, or sporty, or tall, so instead he learned to be funny.

They make a perfect combination, a lovely threesome.

However, like most TV successes, Would I Lie to You? didn’t get off to the most spectacular start back in 2007, and it could easily have been a very different show.

Alan Carr turned down the captaincy slot that was subsequently offered to David, and original host, a smug Angus Deayton, was also not quite right.

But the show really hit its stride when Brydon came on board in 2009 and now it manages to be razor-sharp without being cruel or humiliating in any way.

Like all fine panel shows, Would I Lie to You? brings out the best in its guests, sometimes to a surprising extent.

Joining the regular trio tonight hoping to hoodwink their opponents with absurd facts and plausible lies are Gabby Logan, pictured, fresh from her stint presenting the BBC’s World Championships Athletics coverage from a sadly deserted Doha.

She is joined by stand-up comedian and actor Chris McCausland, best known for his role as Rudi in the Cbeebies show Me Too!, along with Irish presenter and broadcaster Angela Scanlon and Life on Mars and Doctor Who actor John Simm.

Despite this being the 13th run of the show, its fanbase is growing and it is rightly considered as a BBC institution.