KEEPING IT UNREAL! THE RETURN OF 'HARRY & PAUL'

Doctors in the house! Charles and Sheridan return in the new series of HARRY & PAUL. Images: BBC 

Deborah Meaden's worst TV nightmare-Harry Enfield's brilliant mocking incarnation of her entrepreneurial skills from DRAGON's DEN, as "The Grumpy Woman"- makes a well-deserved comeback, as the comedian and his equally lethal acting/writing partner Paul Whitehouse unleash new heights of humorous stupidity for a seven episode fourth series of HARRY AND PAUL sketch shows-possibly their final run on the BBC. (Thankfully, the earlier in the year rumours of the series cancellation proving greatly inaccurate.)

As well as the always funny and painfully accurate piss-take of DRAGON'S DEN, fans can also expect other old character favourites returning including the I Saw You Coming... antiques dealer, the frighteningly real The Benefits Family and those brilliant Harley Street Consultant surgeons, Charles and Sheridan. But what's happened to the luckless, loveless fool who used to visit the Polish cafe? Plus, Enfield plays a machine gun toting version of the Queen, there's a new duo in oily American used-car dealers Bob and Bob, and spoofs on THE KILLING (if only Sophie Grabol had made an appearance in this as well as AB FAB!), CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, THE KING'S SPEECH and TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER, SPY, with special guest appearances from other comedy talents including Whitehouse's FAST SHOW buddy Simon Day, Victoria Wood (as one of the new Jolly Minor Royals), Simon Greenall, and Kevin Eldon as a gossipping 50's typist in what will surely be a MAD MEN-esque humour slaughter.

No clips available yet for the new series, and the Beeb's promotion of it in general has been somewhat lacking both online and on TV, but here's a few classics to get you in the mood:

"Harry & Paul" (BBC) insults Filipino domestic helpers! - YouTube
Ruddy Hell It's Harry and Paul - YouTube
Harry And Paul Dragons Den Spoof: Alan Sugar - YouTube
I Saw You Coming - YouTube

After an uneven third year run a few years back, we're hoping that this new series will see the pair back at the top of their game (interestingly, Enfield is also directing some episodes himself). The late slot given to the show by BBC 2 and BBC HD from this Sunday 10pm is annoying but at least we'll all have smiles on our faces before we go back to work on misery Mondays!