Ben Dowell

You don't need a primer to delight in the chemistry between Ryeland and Pund, and their fantasy sequences where he appears and they discuss murder and the meaning of life. For crime fans this remains a fever dream, a flight of fancy, devoutly to be enjoyed whatever your timeline.

It’s not perfect. Hammond is ebullience and warmth personified but her co-presenter, the erstwhile Mighty Boosh comedian Fielding, still looks a bit lost, as if he has wandered in from the wrong set. But with Nigella the show is definitely in safe hands. Bake Off has found a new star.

Frankie is another one of those grotesque and eccentric nutters you often get in Ritchie world. But it’s fantastic casting, somewhat against type for Flynn. .... He - and this series - are likely to blow you off your feet.

A charitable voice would say that all comedy is hit and miss, but the first few sketches of the opening episode barely scratched the dartboard.

It's a great one too. Strap in, you're in for a treat.

The final outing is a ripper. .... This is all about enjoying a ride packed with emotional punches, sharp dialogue and the kind of on-screen chemistry that comes when your leads are married in real life.

There’s fun to be had watching him win. But beyond that? While some have seen James’s role as a timely Bond audition, I worry that this show’s crashing lack of sophistication will actually shake rather than stir his chances.

What impresses most in the early episodes is that understated sense of the ordinary, leavened by inventive humour that constantly prickles this show’s skin.

Some excellent guest stars feel slightly wasted on occasionally anaemic characterisation. .... It is the wider conspiracy that holds our interest and keeps this ticking.

It’s not complex. It’s not Proust. But boy it is fun.