Comedy is always a matter of taste, whatever form it takes, but there’s something about the sketch show that seems particularly tricky. Judging by the paucity of them, they must be incredibly hard to get right. Who, in the age of TikTok and Reels turning anything and everything into an instant-access series of ad hoc jokes, would bother trying their hand at such a thankless old format? In terms of modern successes, I can only think of Famalam and I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson.
Happily, Ellie & Natasia (Tuesday, 10pm, BBC Three) – Ellie White and Natasia Demetriou – are joining the fold with a full series, three years after they released a pilot episode in 2019. It is excellent. Each brief episode is stuffed with great ideas, recurring characters and enough twists to keep you unsteady just when you think you’ve found your feet. It’s anarchic and surreal, and makes a strong case that there is plenty of life in the British sketch show yet.
