Every time I see one of those adverts for Barclaycard I let out a big audible sigh as it features two of the finest characters from one of the best comedies our TVs have ever had the privilege of airing. The characters are essentially Mac’ and Guy from the fabulous Green Wing, and I miss it being on my screen far too much.

A comedy set in a hospital is hardly a new thing. There is Scrubs and looking back, Only When I Laugh ("I’m H.A.P.P.Y, I’m H.A.P.P.Y, I know I am, I’m sure I am, I’m H.A.P.P.Y…) but Green Wing offered something new and fresh to the genre… mostly in the form of surreal visual gags mixed with nervous breakdowns.

Green Wing‘s second series pretty much revolved around the bizarre love triangle of Guy, Mac’ and Caroline. It was an on/off/on/off/eh?/on/off/on relationship with the fantastic Tamsin Greig in the middle of the storm. Of course, these characters provided most of the story lines and, dare I say it, memorable lines… but one man sat quietly fidgeting in a corner stealing everyone’s glory with the twitch of an eyebrow and the near silent intake of breath of a madman. That person is Mark Heap.

Mark Heap played the brilliantly unhinged Dr Statham, and looking at Heap’s previous work, it should come of no surprise that he revelled in this role so much. Why? Well he’s played wrong characters in Brass Eye, Jam, Spaced and Big Train and has been monumentally gob-smacking in them all. His Dr Statham character has the fluffed put downs and pathetic broken spirit that made tears of laughter flood from my laughing eyeballs (yes, it is possible to have laughing eyeballs, especially when Mark Heap is on screen). More than that, Heap has the greatest comic timing in acting. He can deliver a line with a millisecond delay to make it a million times more hilarious than if a lesser actor spake it. Not only that, but his slapstick acting is excellent, and made for the most memorable moments in the entire second series of Green Wing.

Basically, Green Wing starred the finest selection of Brit comic actors with a fantastic script which was both hilarious and genuinely touching at times. News that there was to be no more of the show is bad news for just about anybody who likes comedy… but thank the stars that it was shown… an amazing programme that was tough to beat this year. [Mof Gimmers]