Most successful new BBC comedy launch in five years

Death Valley has become the most-watched new BBC scripted comedy title in five years.

The show – starring Timothy Spall as an actor turned amateur sleuth and Gwyneth Keyworth as a police detective – attracted an overnight audience of 2.9 million viewers to BBC One on Sunday night. 

It was the most-watched show in its 8.15pm slot, and beat last year’s Ludwig, which had 2.8 million viewers.

Though both whodunits have strong drama elements, they were commissioned by the BBC comedy team, withDeath Valley made by BBC Studios Comedy and Ludwig by Big Talk.

The previous best-performing comedy launch was Martin Clunes vehicle Warren in February 2019.

Death Valley was generally well-received by critics, getting four stars from The Guardian's Lucy Mangan, who called it 'witty and fun and bounces along with enough verve to get you past any footling objections' and from the Telegraph's Benji Wilson, who said: 'Paul Doolan’s script is pin-sharp throughout'.

In a three-star review The Times said: 'We might not need another oddball crime-cracking duo on our screens, but this is a decent addition to the genre.'

The dissenting voice came from The Independent, which called it 'so slight as to be almost weightless' in a two-star review.

Read our review here - and there’s an interview with writer Paul Doolan here. 

Published: 28 May 2025