Watchification

The CBBC comedy series, Sorry, I’ve Got No Head is almost at the end of its first series so catch it while you can. It’s become the highlight of our telly week. Seeing as most adult comedy isn’t funny these days, it’s okay to watch the kids’ stuff. This has a great cast, with a couple of familiar names (Mel Giedroyc and Marcus Brigstocke) and some familiar faces (James Bachman, Will Andrews, Anna Crilly) as seen in other quality comedy shows like Little Britain and Lead Balloon. It doesn’t try to do anything clever, thank heavens. It’s just fun and funny. The North Barrasay School for the Gifted is a particular highlight.

Celebrity Masterchef pushes new boundaries. Mainly the definitions of the words “celebrity” and “masterchef”. In the last two weeks a few people you might recognise (Clare Grogan, him out of Brookside, her out of Atomic Kitten, two of the Scousers) have competed against the cast of Holby City for a place in the never-ending semi or is it quarter-finals. All conventional rules are out of the window and it doesn’t matter. The dramatic music and FREQUENT SHOUTING belies the fact that it’s only cooking. And who are those guys that present it? So many questions but still, compelling viewing.

In long summer days when good telly is thin on the ground Hedz is a great pick-me-up. It gently takes the piss out of celebrities through daft sketches where they have giant cardboard cut-outs for faces (in the style of Reeves & Mortimer’s George Michael). It’s on CBBC so is for kids really, but that doesn’t stop it being fun for grown-ups too. It’s sharp enough to be on the mark without being cruel and is a damn site funnier than most satirical shows aimed at adults. It’s just really, really stupid most of the time, which is why it’s so brilliant.

The premise of Britain’s Missing Top Model is pretty simple – eight disabled women compete to win the prize of a fashion shoot with Rankin for Marie Claire. It’s twice as tough because they’re expected to be a role model for disabled people and to look amazing at the same time. The first episode quickly descends into the same shallow bitchfest as any other modelling competition (great telly!) but the points it throws up about society’s attitude to disability give a lot to consider. The exchanges between the judges (Wayne Hemingway, Marie O’Riordan, Mark Summers and Lara Masters) look like they’re going to get pretty fiery.

The Culture Show is back for a new series, full of vim and vigour. The sweetness and light of Lauren Laverne is balanced by the curmudgeonly Mark Kermode with a back-up team of eminently likeable experts who are smart but not smartarse.

The new Tuesday time slot is much better and there’s an extended version on Fridays for those too cultured to be out at the pub. Another good thing is broadcasts from London and Glasgow on alternate weeks – good news for those of us outside the capital as there’s a chance we could actually get to see some of this fabulous stuff. This week’s episode had a typically eclectic mix with conductor Gustavo Dudamel, don’t-know-it-all Karl Pilkington, music from Richard Hawley and Elbow and a great feature on Scottish land art which explained what those pink sheep on the M8 are all about.