Beeb strikes comedy gold with semi-improvised sitcom Outnumbered

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SUBURBAN family sitcoms usually inspire more vasectomies than viewers. So what is it about this seemingly standard parent trap fare that won't cause fathers across the land to curse their fertility while Googling the word 'snip'?

Well, after sparking a national outcry for allowing grown-ups to improvise on air, the Beeb has struck true comedy gold for the first time since The Office by giving their very youngest actors the freedom to stay and do the first thing that comes into their head.

Outnumbered, back for a second series in the prestigious post-Strictly Come Dancing Saturday night slot, is written by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin – who combined scripts and improvisation to critical acclaim on Drop the Dead Donkey.

So while mum Sue (Claire Skinner) and dad (Hugh Dennis) must memorise their lines the old-fashioned way, their children are just given scene outlines and told to make it up as they go along.

Rather than being a recipe for disaster, this simple device delivers endearing and entertaining results, with the adult actors often left as open mouthed as the audience as the three youngsters are allowed to wing it.

Oldest son Jake is in a permanent panic about girls and the earth being sucked into a black hole, while middle child Ben obsesses about the baby Jesus and lasers. With his foppish hair and furrowed brow, Ben's endless curiosity calls to mind Alan Davies badgering Stephen Fry on the quiz show Q.I. (“Why has God only given us 15 billion years to live before the sun dies?/Why didn’t Jesus shape-shift into a Roman to save himself?”)

But the show’s superstar is wily six-year-old Karen, played by little genius Ramona Marquez. She is possessed of an astonishing Shirley Temple-like confidence and specialises in a powerful brand of psychological warfare that will have Sir Alex Ferguson purring.

The second series kicks off at cousin Julie’s wedding, where Ben spends his night dipping sardines in the chocolate fountain while ‘executive’ bridesmaid Karen talks the vicar out of his faith and the bride out of her impending nuptials. Well, almost.

Critics will argue that the writers have hardly written anything here at all. Why labour over a laptop when you can point a camera at a precocious child and wait for them to ad lib something silly?

Nearer the truth is that at a time when it must justify its role more than ever, the Beeb has delivered a genuinely spontaneous sitcom, depicting the comical absurdities and anxieties of family life.

Before Outnumbered, licence payers could be forgiven for thinking only American animated sitcoms were up to the job.