TV review: Hebburn
Hebburn creator Jason Cook.
This week, the Stockton Arts Centre held a special advance screening of the BBC2 sitcom, Hebburn. During the event, the first two episodes were shown and an hour-long Q&A session followed. Giggle Beats columnist Ian Wolf reports…
Last week, one national newspaper announced in their review of Hebburn that the North East town was actually fictional(!), a mere figment of Jason Cook’s wonderful imagination. I can assure you, though, that it really does exist; to misquote Belinda Carlisle, Hebburn is a place on Earth.
In fact, as Cook – who plays local scallywag Ramsey in the show – revealed during Thursday’s question and answer session, much of this new BBC2 sitcom has grounding in his life growing up in the North East town.
If you’re coming in from the cold, here’s the basic plot: son of the Pearson family, Jack (Chris Ramsey), got hitched Las Vegas style to a middle class, Jewish girl called Sarah (Kimberly Nixon) – but he doesn’t know how to break the news to parents Joe and Pauline (Jim Moir and Gina McKee).
We find out in the opening episode that Jack works as a journalist in Manchester, but has returned to his hometown of Hebburn with Sarah to introducer her to the family – while at the same time trying to keep their marriage a secret. Jack’s sister Vicki (Lisa McGrillis) and wheelchair-bound grandmother Dot (Pat Dunn) also feature heavily in the opening two episodes.
Jack and Sarah might have issues dealing with the family, of course, but he also has to educate her in the mysterious ways of Hebburn, including a meet and greet with the local residents: his somewhat dodgy best friend Ramsey (Cook), vest-wearing Big Keith (Steffen Peddie) and failed pub singer Gervaise (Neil Grainger).
There’s really so much to enjoy about Hebburn. The relationships in the show make it special; there are always hints of truth in the script which make it believable, much like Friday Night Dinner in that respect.
But then Hebburn comes packed with an added bonus for North East comedy fans. Not only is it a family sitcom that’s warm, funny and beautifully shot, but it’s also about a town that we know. For me, Hebburn’s actually the ideal place to set such a sitcom: it shows the rough, working class environment that most people associate with the region, but it’s not too downbeat. It certainly doesn’t perpetuate that silly “It’s grim up North” attitude; the spirit of community is still there and it’s a funny one…
I’m fairly confident that Hebburn will be my favourite sitcom of the year; the script’s about as good as you’ll find, the cast are hard-working, dedicated and clearly enjoying themselves on set – and therefore so are we too. Here’s hoping that over the next six weeks the show can take the title of the nation’s favourite new sitcom – and maybe, just maybe, put Hebburn on the global map.
Hebburn airs on Thursdays at 10pm on BBC2. Watch our footage from the premiere here:
