Whites (2010)

Whites is another one of those great sitcoms that pops up out of no-where on BBC2 and proceeds to be very funny and diverting indeed. Starring Alan Davies as Roland White, head chef at a fancy country-hotel restaurant... there's not much more set up than that! The plots are the standard comedy tropes, and the comedy comes from misunderstandings and good character work, with Roland being a traditional sitcom lead in the vein of Basil Fawlty and David Brent, namely he's quick to anger and often does some unforgiveable things, but he's never nasty or unlikeable. Davies looks perfect for the part and I find him so pleasurable to watch, it's such a shame he does act more often than he does (the odd Jonathan Creek special once every blue moon isn't enough!). 

The kitchen staff (and the rest of the cast) are made up of restaurant manager and will-they-won't-they love interest of Roland, Caroline, and new apprentice chef Skoose. I pair these two together as they're played by Katharine Parkinson and Stephen Wight, who I recently saw playing husband and wife in BBC4 sitcom The Great Outdoors. It's odd to see them together again, although not in similar roles. Parkinson I'm loving every time I see her, and Wight is a character you love to hate here as he gives his boss, sous chef Bib (Darren Boyd) a hard time. Bib (where these ridiculous names come from I've no idea) is Roland's long-suffering 'side-kick' who longs to come out of Roland's shadow, if only Roland would let him. 

Isy Suttie plays Kiki, a gormless waitress who is almost too dim to function, yet Suttie plays her with a charming guilelessness that she doesn't grate. The wonderful Maggie Steed (who I last saw in Hayfever at the WYP) is the owner of the hotel and an absolute blast every time she appears. She's a typical toff, not recognising Bib, getting Roland to cook individual meals for her in his office and generally floating around not doing much. Although I described the 'typical sitcom' set ups above, the polished, likeable cast make Whites a show I'd be happy to see gain another series.

05/03/11 Update: Alan Davies has apparently confirmed, via Twitter, that there won't be another series.