Man To Man With Dean Learner

Originally little more than a bad actor in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, the character of Dean Learner is allowed to reveal himself, through the power of his own laid-back chat show, as a bad person in general. With far more exposure and money than is healthy for both himself and society, he introduces us to several incarnations of collaborator Matthew Holness, including Marenghi, all hilarious in their mediocrity. As with Darkplace, the devil is in the detail, and every element, from the sets to the suits, seems targeted to set off some distant memory of the terrible television and entertainment establishment of the pre-Channel 4 70s and 80s. Alan Partridge may have got there before them, but Learner's despicable club owner/porn baron offers a more sinister and singular take on the format that's nauseatingly funny. [Benji Rhys]