Family Life

BBC4 are currently repeating "Outnumbered" a series of six half hour comedies based around the life of a suburban family.

Sounds pretty familiar? Well the subject matter is not earth shatteringly different. What is different is that the real stars are the three children, who are just great. Their acting is tremendous and the script really funny.

The writers Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin built in to the script room for improvisation and it's really hard to see where the improvisation comes in, but if it is the children's parts then they are truly remarkable.

It is a really accurate description of family life, with children having to be bribed, scolded, loved and disciplined! The phone is never where it should be, vegetables don't get eaten, they're always late and on car journeys both children and grand-parents need the loo when you're in a traffic jam" .

Anyway don't take my word for it! Watch it on BBC4 or on the iPlayer.