I absolutely adored the first series of Outnumbered as did – as we know from the massive amount of comments it provoked – many of you. This second series has been moved to a prime-time Saturday night slot and rightly so.

In case you missed it the first time round (and have missed us chunnering on about it on this blog), it’s a sitcom featuring Pete (Hugh Dennis) and Sue (Claire Skinner) and their three kids: Jake , Ben and Karen (played by Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez).

It’s partly scripted and partly improvised, with much of the improvisation coming from the children. And they are completely amazing: maddening and endearing in equal measure (well, Ben falls quite heavily on the maddening side…).

One of the (few) criticisms of the first series was that nothing much happens. And I suppose it doesn’t. What Outnumbered is about is family life, with all its daily annoyances. So, late for a wedding at which 6-year-old Karen is to be a bridesmaid, Karen manages to lock herself in the loo and Ben suggests they put beavers through the window to eat the door. Sounds like our house. And I’ve only got one kid.

At the wedding, we learn both that Sue’s father’s Alzheimer’s is worsening and, thanks to Karen, that the bride has had a series of unsuitable boyfriends. (“And also, why are wedding dresses funny? Because, when I asked my mummy and daddy in the car if the bride would be wearing white, they said yes and started giggling.”) Sue bumps into a couple she can’t remember. Her sister turns up and tries to pick a fight. And Ben and Karen traumatise the vicar with questions about the Bible. (“Would Jesus forgive somebody if they flew up to heaven… and punched Jesus in the face…?”)

The thing about Outnumbered – in our house at least – is that, despite there being so many great lines that we don’t want to miss them, we can’t help talking over the top of it. Because we’re invested in the family. They feel like people we know. We’re constantly calling out advice, reminding each other of the times we’ve been in the same situations or made the same mistakes, or discussing what we would do in a similar situation.

I can’t tell you how much I love this show. But I’ll try (cos that’s my job). It’s so true. So charming. So full of joy. Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner are wonderful. The children have, quite rightly, received many plaudits, but it’s the five of them in combination that is so magical. Sometimes, with a TV show, everything – the writing, the characters, the acting, the situations – comes together and it just works. Outnumbered is one of those shows.

Read our interviews with Hugh Dennis
and Outnumbered creators, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin

More Outnumbered