I’m a big fan of Lee Mack’s stand-up, I first saw him live in Bridlington about 10 years ago. I especially enjoy his improvisation comedy in panel shows like Would I Lie to You and the occasional appearance on Qi. And I do like Not Going Out but it has always seemed to me to be a vehicle for Lee’s brand of one liners: not that I mind that but the fact that he and Lucy (Sally Bretton) got married has always struck me as implausible. So I wait to see if the script for Lee’s new sitcom ‘Semi-Detached’ (BBC2) has a plausible script or is another string of one liners.

In the new show Lee plays Stuart, a weak willed character whose existence seems to be blighted by a stream of calamitous events caused, not by him, as in Not Going Out, but by other characters influencing his actions. He is a somewhat pathetic guy who finds it impossible to stand up for himself. Lee has been quoted as saying “I got quite annoyed by the character by the end of the series!” Let’s hope viewers don’t feel the same. Semi-Detached starts on 10:05pm on Thursday 6th August 2020, BBC Two.