New BBC Scotland sitcom is 'quite good' says stunned critic

No words are more guaranteed to ruin a TV reviewer’s day than “and now a new six-part comedy series from BBC Scotland”.

I won’t name the guilty parties since I’m already feart to walk Byres Road in daylight, but we’ve all raced up that hill of expectation only to tumble down the other side into a bog of despair. Having said that, I have to declare that Only Child (BBC Scotland Thursday/BBC1 Friday) wasn’t half bad. It may even have been, er, quite good.

The sit in the sitcom is a son moving home to look after his elderly widowed dad. Neither wants this reversal of the parent and child role, but needs and obligations must.

It’s a great idea which is why it has been used so often, from Steptoe and Son to Frasier by way of Sorry and Home to Roost, so kudos to Only Child writer-creator Bryce Hart (Still Up, Ten Percent) for bravely steaming in there where others might not have dared.

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Only Child stands apart from the rest by being set in the Highlands, Forres to be precise, so it looks great which always helps. As for the comedy, there is much here that will be only too familiar to those in similar situations, including arguments about hearing aids, use-by dates, and iPads, all of which passes the Homer Simpson comedy test - it’s funny because it’s true.

By far the best thing about Only Child, however, is the casting, with Gregor Fisher as dad Ken and Greg McHugh as his son Richard. At first I thought there would not be enough of an age gap to be convincing but there are 26 years between the two actors.

Even if the gap had been narrower this pair would have made it work. Individually, Fisher and McHugh are class acts. Together, they are a dream ticket. It’s as if they’ve been together for years.

I could have done without some of the comedy locals and their Bill Forsyth-style wackiness, but on the whole … the half-hour passed muster.

If it ain’t broke just move it to a new location was the guiding philosophy behind Return to Paradise (BBC1, Friday), a further spin-off from Death In Paradise. Return to Paradise, Beyond Paradise, Death in Paradise - the show is taking over the world, one cheery murder at a time.

This time the country is Australia and the new detective in town is an old face from the past, and a woman to boot. DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson) made enemies of the Dolphin Cove locals by leaving her beau at the altar and fleeing to London.

The jilted party in question is a forensic pathologist who seems to be allergic to shirts, T-shirts, anything that will cover up his well-toned surfer body. A hot forensic pathologist. Perhaps he comes as a set with Fleabag’s hot priest and Tom Hiddleston’s hot hotel manager.

Mackenzie is intense, kooky, a little bit Sherlock in her style and a lot like Annie Hall in her dress sense. Best of the rest is the station’s civilian volunteer Reggie Rocco (Celia Ireland) who could have escaped from Kath & Kim. Otherwise, it’s same old, same old, from the police station layout to the “I’ve gathered you all here today” denouement.

The Listeners with Rebecca Hall and Ollie West (Image: free) New drama The Listeners (BBC1, Tuesday) is the weirdest thing I’ve seen I’ve seen on prime time BBC1 since Mrs Brown’s Boys.

From the novel by Jordan Tannahill, produced by Element Pictures (Normal People, The Favourite, Poor Things) and directed by Janicza Bravo (Poker Face, Mrs America), The Listeners looks fantastic.

The cast is led by acting royalty Rebecca Hall playing a teacher, Claire, who is being driven mad by a strange hum that no one else can hear. No one, that is, except for one of her pupils, a teenage boy. Before you can say, “Are you mad, woman?” the pair are driving around taking sound measurements and texting each other late at night.

The viewer is invited to think one thing, only to have their assumptions challenged. What is going on between these two? Where is the noise coming from? Is it something industrial, weather-related, or a product of the deep state sent to drive people mad? And who are the enigmatic couple living in an architecturally stunning home who are overly keen to help Claire?

I’m halfway through four episodes and I haven’t got a clue what is going on, which is a good thing, I think. If the noise turns out to be coming from a wonky bathroom extractor fan I’ll be seriously cheesed off.

I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here (Daily, ITV1) is back which can only mean one thing - it’s time to book a Christmas delivery slot with your friendly neighbourhood supermarket. Once that excitement is over you can settle down to watch people you don’t know do inexplicable things while two small Geordies crack jokes. Coleen Rooney is playing a blinder. Her game plan seems to consist of simply being herself, a nice young woman making the best of things. It will never catch on.