UPDATE: Read our Series 1 review, with Jason Cook interview here
Welcome to Hebburn, Pet. Comedian Jason Cook’s new series started last night, a family sitcom based in his home town of Hebburn, lovingly described by Jack (Chris Ramsey) as “where dreams come to die”.
Image: BBC/Baby Cow/Vishal Sharma
When Jack and his attractive middle-class Jewish wife Sarah (Kimberley Nixon) return to the family home, mum Pauline (Gina McKee) goes overboard to make them feel welcome, even binning dad Joe’s (Jim Moir, better known as Vic Reeves) freshly cooked bacon. How long can they keep the secret of their recent Vegas wedding?
The town portrayed, apart from the accents, could seem familiar to anyone who lives in a small town, including a trip to the local pub “who don’t do cocktails” when Sarah asks for a Pinot Grigio. Most people probably know a character like loveable chav Ramsay (Played by writer Cook) who sells counterfeit DVDs.
I think the stand-out character was “loveable slapper” daughter Vicki (Lisa McGrillis), who is a bit rough around the edges, and has to put up with the attention of pub singer and ex-boyfriend Gervaise (Neil Grainger).
A homecoming gathering in the pub seems to be going well, even after the family keep mentioning Jack’s past girlfriends including Denise (Victoria Elliot) who they meet in the pub, but once Sarah has a few too many drinks…
Some of the jokes were a bit clichéd, but there were plenty of laughs as the show got off to a good start. Perhaps a few too many jokes by grandma about her leaky bodily functions though!
Hebburn is on BBC2, Thursdays at 10:00pm
Watch Episode 1 on BBC iPlayer here
As my eldest son lives in Hebburn with a Hebburn lass soon to produce my 5th grandchild and they both find this very funny and heartwarming as i do compared to Geordie shore which they loath there must be a second series,as a rabid jock living in the south of england whose hero was Rab.c Nesbitt i have a new hero in nanna.Can’t wait for series two.
RIACh, what do you mean, have the BBC really said that they won’t make a second series, I mean they have to, its the first thing in years I would be happy to pay a licence for. Please tell me your joking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We all know what the BBC are like, if folk like something, the PC lot cancel it, (I bet there is not a second series of Mr Khan) tthough they did give us a second series of Mrs Browns Boys. We need to send emails into the Comedy Controller at the BBC so let the fingers do the talking
OMG tuned in on thursday with a smiles on my face thinking bet the wedding will be funny, eh no pet, cried like a banshee, what am I going to do on a thursday night now, please tell me you’ll be back soon with another series??????
Just watched the last in the series of Hebburn. Brilliant. It’s laugh out loud stuff and one of the very few comedies like Dinner Ladies which you have to watch again and again to catch the funny lines you missed the first time!
Absolutely love Hebburn, just great. All the characters are very well portrayed and I just love Nanna!
I have loved hebburn, i really hope there will be a second series!!! x
Only two words to describe Hebburn – F****NG GREAT – so spot on – so now the BBC won’t do another series as they don’t want to sterio type us Geordies like – brilliant, Great Script writers – Jason (Ramsey) & Co
It was only word of mouth got me watching this. I missed the first four episodes and have had to catch up on iPlayer…Its been a long time since I laughed out loud watching a TV sitcom. Everything about this is out of the very top drawer
Absolutely love it, the highlight of my week, and i couldn’t give it a higher compliment than to say its my new Gavin & Stacey. From an exiled macam!
Hope there will be a second series soon, brilliant.
A b rilliant funny programe, I am biased though, as I come from Hebburn and Imarried a girl from down south and the first meeting with Jack’s parents was vaguely familiar. Great show.
Absolutely LOVING Hebburn, it’s the funniest show I’ve seen in ages and it just slipped onto our screens without fanfare!! Cast and writing are brilliant, hope there’s going to be a second series. Worth a repeat showing on BBC 1 at an earlier slot.
Absolutely brilliant set to be the next big hit! As Corinne says cleverly written and well acted. Highlight of my week!
I think this is one of the funniest programmes on at the moment. Gentle humour that makes me laugh out loud – and that doesn’t happen that often with most things on TV. Really enjoying it – beautifully written and extremely well acted. Well done all those involved.
Loved it! Funny, sometimes dry, always witty. Great characterisation. I’m a firm fan already
funniest programme since fools and horses
Gently hilarious. Painfully accurate and wonderfully affectionate, Hebburn is written (and performed ) by someone who has ‘been there’. Grandma’s entourage is hilarious (her housemates’ mumblings, for example) and she herself has a wonderful turn of phrase (“I feel another urge coming on – both cowboys and indians this time, if you know what I mean…). Jim Moir is a rock (albeit pumice in consistency) as Dad and Gina McKee is terrifying accurate as the matriarch. The final scene in episode 2, of Jack an Sarah in bed, was so uncomfortably funny you know that Chris Ramsay must have had real first-hand experience of it actually happening. Throughout, the dialogue is ripper. Hebburn is appointment-to-view television…