The bear facts: these girls are here to stay

▼ DERRY GIRLS (CHANNEL 4)

There was a slight concern Derry Girls could suffer from the TV equivalent of the difficult second album after the stunning success of the debut series, but the third episode of the current run proved these girls are going to be no one-hit wonders.

Whereas the first two episodes were good but not great, this one was so packed with jokes, visual gags, one-liners and pathos that a second viewing is advisable.

Set in ’90s Northern Ireland during The Troubles, Derry Girls does what all great comedies do and touches on serious topics while delivering jokes.

The girls (and James) are delighted Take That are playing a gig in a time when few pop acts venture into the country, but their mothers put their collective foot down when they realise the concert is in Belfast.

It’s not just the threat of bombs, you see, but the fact a polar bear has escaped from Belfast Zoo and could potentially eat their weans.

Being teenagers, the girls don’t take no for an answer and catch the bus to Belfast.

What follows is lies upon hilarious lies as the bomb disposal unit pull over their bus to blow up a suspect suitcase (which actually contains the girls’ carry out), a run-in with members of the travelling community, and the adults reaching peak hysteria as they hear the polar bear is coming closer to home.

Derry Girls shows that humour can be found in the most trying of circumstances. There’s a life lesson for the world we currently live in.

▼ THE HOUSE OF EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE (CHANNEL 5)

You’d think a show featuring a man who thought he was a parrot would be more interesting. Channel 5’s three-parter was accused of being a modern freakshow, but it was just dull.