Review by Steve Bennett

Ridiculously dressed in tracksuit and tie, huge tinted glasses and trousers tucked into his socks, Mackenzie Crook's latest creation has the definite look of an overexaggerated one-gag character unable to sustain an entire show.

Yet the teacher from hell turns out to be a thoroughly entertaining act, pushing all the buttons of schoolday nostalgia yet frequently bringing an unexpected freshness to the subject.

The observations are spot-on, using every long-forgotten cliché in the teacher's phrasebook, but Crook never labours the point.

Subtle gags, some barely perceptable, are dropped among the more obvious targets throughout this entertaining lesson as the inadequate Mr Bagshaw struggles with sex education, field trips and extracurricular activities.

There's also fantastic interaction with the audience, generating a lively atmosphere. Exercise books and insults are hurled at the 'class', a sporadic volley of paper planes and screwed-up paper is the response.

Mr Bagshaw is such a believable comic creation, you wonder why school was never this much fun at the time. Crook should go straight to the top of the comedy class with this one.

Review date: 1 Jan 2000
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett