Early Doors has the strictly fun factor

TOP bods at the Beeb have been accused of ruining Saturday night after pitting Strictly Come Dancing against The X-Factor. Shame on them.

Critics even accused the corporation of acting against the interests of licence fee payers by moving “Strictly” to a later time slot so it clashed with the ITV rival. An outrage.

Apparently viewers were up in arms about the fact that, for the first time ever, the two giants of Saturday night prime-time have gone head-to-head.

A’hem . . . memo to Auntie — no we weren’t. We taped one!

No such luck last night. It’s bad on the box all right when you find yourself frantically flicking channels in a futile attempt to catch something remotely good enough to deny the ironing board an appearance.

Last night was that night.

Sometimes though, the dedicated channel hopper will land smack bang on the occasional gem — even if it’s a repeat.

Take Early Doors. It’s a real shame this half-hour of comedy dynamite is given the unearthly outpost of BBC4 at half-past-my-bedtime on a dreary Tuesday night. Probably why hardly anyone I know has even heard of it.

For the uninitiated, ED comes straight from the lightning wit of Craig Cash — he of Royle Family fame — and Phil Mealey. No, me neither. But both play central characters.

The cameras never stray from The Grapes — a grubby old run-down Manchester pub only ever frequented by half-a-dozen or so hardy regulars.

Doesn’t sound too enthralling does it? But suffice to say, the host of familiar faces on show light up the small screen on said dreary Tuesday nights.

From old Tommy “I’ll stay on me own” — dare anyone attempt to get a round in — to steady-Eddie and long-suffering other half Joan in the corner, Early Doors is funny, simple and unpretentious — three key ingredients of any sit-com worth its salt.

But vying for top billing are larger-than-life landlord Ken — played by Saddleworth’s very own John Henshaw — and the two lazy plods not exactly at the sharp end of the fight against crime.

It’s believable, old-fashioned... yet modern. It’s honest. And northern. A comedy classic.

Soap bore: The Ricky-still-loves-Bianca and Bianca-still-loves-Ricky boomerang in EastEnders.

We know. If only they did.

Soap roar: John “me parrot” Thomson as Jesse on Corrie — comedy gold.