Gigglebox Weekly #80 – It’s Kevin

It’s Kevin, the new sketch show by Kevin Eldon, aired for a second time last night. Ian Wolf offers his thoughts…

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Kevin Eldon has featured in just about every decent comedy show over the past two decades; he’s starred in so many different comedy shows it’s hard to keep track.

In fact it’s probably not worth listing them all because the chances are that you’ll already know ‘em. And if you haven’t seen him in at least one TV or radio comedy then you’re probably visiting the wrong website.

But now Eldon has his own show, and his own comic talents flows forth wonderfully. From the opening title song to the ending of the first episode – a song about mobile phones performed by Eldon and Bill Bailey as a Swiss Eurovision act in pink jumpsuits – I haven’t come across a sketch show that kicked off with so many hit sketches…

With the odd, small exception, most of the show is just hilarious. Highlights for me included what looks like a drunk criminal, who turns out to be a surgeon, what Adolf Hitler would be like if he had the voice of Beatles producer Sir George Martin, a new take on the sitcom Love Thy Neighbour and the history of the sandwich. And that’s just in the first episode.

One of the other things that makes It’s Kevin something of a treat is that, because Eldon has worked with so many people, they now seem to be returning the favour and making appearances here. Not just Bill Bailey, but also Dan Renton Skinner, James Fleet, Simon Munnery, Julia Davis, Justin Edwards, Amelia Bullmore and so on.

It’s Kevin’s exactly the sort of comedy show that networks should be trying to make – which means it’ll probably not attract huge viewing figures, and then it’ll be axed. A critic’s choice. Well, mine anyway.