White Gold

Damon Beesley is primarily a TV producer but when he does write, it's gold... and in this case - White Gold! The brains behind 'The Inbetweeners' hits the mark again with this comedy-drama (emphasis on comedy) about the lives of three Essex double-glazing salesmen.

Ed Westwick plays fast-talking Vincent who narrates directly to the camera to keep us in tune with what's going on in his world. It's an excellent rip-off of Michael Caine's 1966 'Alfie' device (and character... which Jude Law failed to pull off in 2004.)

The opening gag from the first episode sets the tone for the series... it's crude, tacky, rude... and very, very funny. If you liked 'The Inbetweeners' then you'll feel right at home here. The only difference is that the swearing here is real and not a made up language to beat the watershed.

Just drooling over a rare sighting of the drop-dead gorgeous Linzey Cocker playing ''er indoors' is another good reason to stick around. She's great fun as Vincent's sassy, foul-mouthed missus.

James Buckley and Joe Thomas team up again, and fill the screen with remarkable chemistry while they spar off each other effortlessly. Beesley should re-write 'The Odd Couple' for these two!

The musical inserts are spot on and a fantastic reminder of an unremarkable time in the UK where wide boys drank Stella from sleeve glasses and thick hair and thin ties were de rigueur!

I'd love to see the show renewed but I'm not sure it could be. Things seemed to tie up nicely at the end and maybe there's only so much eighties nostalgia any one man can tolerate!

I loved this program and it made a fantastic change from the insipid rubbish churned out masquerading as comedy over the last few years. The BBC doesn't do comedy very well anymore but on this occasion, they have hit the mark!

Lets see more of these UK shows on Netflix. There's a huge expat market in the USA and we miss the type of telly we know and love from the UK.

No one from England should have any trouble understanding an Essex accent. I saw the review where someone had trouble understanding the dialog. Bless.

Yeah its original (ish) Sometimes its like watching Jay from the inbetweeners with a tash and a job and simon with the same problems and a job.

Theres only so far you can take something when you are recycling the same material within a series so to stop this from dying an undignified death it may be better to let it be.

However i have a feeling that timeshare will be next on the list and unless the writing at BBC2 comes up with something better a lower score might be applied later.

However some humour and laughter, good enough for a 7 even. Just no more.

I really liked Season 1, great set up, however it really did seem to drop the ball in season 2. Season 2 wasn't terrible, but as far as writing goes seemed quite lazy. It looks great, something that can be said for both season's, and has a very strong 80's feel to it - clothing and all that really well done. With a shift to the aspect ratio I might even have believed it could have been made in the 80s.

Season 1 is an easy 8/10. Season 2 more 6/10 (liked the characters, however the story lost its legs a bit).

I would like to see a season 3, though I wouldn't know where they'll go with it. End of season 2 didn't feel as though it was open to a season 3 that could include all of the same characters. I won't say why.

I would say if you like things like Benidorm (first couple of season), and or the Inbetweeners, then this might be up your street.

You know your getting old when they start making shows from an era you grew up in. As you watch it you start to point out the cars, clothes, music and haircuts the 80's really were the time that fashion forgot. The makers of the show have nailed that period in time superbly, and the script by Inbetweeners creator Damon Beesley is equally good. Anyone who lived through that period would have come across the lead character Vince Swan played by the impressive Ed Weswick. In the case of White Gold we have double glazing salesman all pushing for that big end of month bonus. But it could just as easily been Estate Agents Car Salesmen the 80s were all about excess and earning as much money as you could and that's really the premise of the show in a nutshell. There are natural comparisons to the Inbetweeners as Joe Thomas and James Buckley play pretty much play the same characters Jay and Simon in this show, nothing wrong with that the Inbetweeners was one the funniest sitcoms of recent years. And whilst White Gold may not reach those dizzy heights it's not far behind.