Peter Kay's Car Share was a comedy gem

Peter Kay certainly returned to the nation's screens in style with Car Share, a hugely enjoyable six-part show which was easily the best new comedy I'd enjoyed since The Thick Of It.

The northern funnyman's latest vehicle (!) was a co-creation with Paul Coleman, who he had worked with on Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere and Britain's Got the Pop Factor.

I've always been a fan of Kay's work. Phoenix Nights was a wonderful sitcom and anyone who has had the 'pleasure' of a brush with clubland in their life will know it's superbly well observed. His stand up, too, was genuinely funny if sadly over-quoted and imitated by people who were a lot less funny.

Still, if being working class or northern (to at least some degree) helped you laugh hardest at his previous work, Car Share - thanks to Coleman - hit at a neat idea with an even wider appeal.

Kay's John Coleman and Sian Gibson's Kayleigh Kitson (also credited as a co-writer along with Tim Reid) were thrust together in a company car share scheme and we get to enjoy their journeys to and from work. Both characters are richly fleshed out in a way that makes them effortlessly easy to relate to.

Either alone or with a friend or partner, we've all enjoyed the unique laughs and frustrations to be had when sharing a vehicle. The genius of this show was to make the radio the 'third person' in the car as we see the pair guess the 'golden hour', sing along to the sort of songs that are spot on for the type of commercial station invented by the writers and 'talk back' at the adverts. Only Alan Partridge has used the radio to such comic effect.

Kay getting 'caught' belting out 'You're The Voice', the banality of management-speak and the modern amusement of the 'Bluetooth phone call' were just three of the many 'we've all been there' moments to savour. There were also set piece moments such as Gibson's 'dogging' misunderstanding that were choke-on-your-cup-of-tea funny.

Added into the mix is just the right amount of 'will they, won't they' romance for the two main characters - something that was never resolved in a way that satisfyingly left us all wanting more.

Subtly good acting, astute observations and fantastic gags made this a superb success and, if the ratings were anything to go by, the BBC would be barmy not to go back begging for more. Such rare comedy gems should be treasured

A welcome return to Trent Bridge

You can't beat a spot of cricket at Trent Bridge, and the purest way to get a fix is with a day of county championship cricket. Yes, there's not the pyrotechnics of the Twenty20 or the intensity of a Test Match - both enjoyable in their own right - but there's a real joy to be had from days such as today.

It's perhaps easy to take the venue for granted but we shouldn't. This ever-evolving ground - with all singing and dancing scoreboard screens and new stands - is a world class setting and regularly ranked among the top of its kind by people within the game. It pays not to forget how lucky we are to have that in reach.

A county championship match offers the perfect chance to soak in the surrounds and enjoy a slice of sporting action in a relaxing atmosphere. The action unfolds intriguingly before you - but at the sort of pace that leaves room to dip in and out a little. In fact I often find it's a great chance to catch up with a friend for a chinwag and today was also a good chance for that - a perfect mix of social and sporting pleasures. Oh and £15 for seven and a half hours? Not bad at all.

So, what of the action? Well, the combination of the cloud cover and green-looking wicket meant Nottinghamshire captain Chris Read was happy to put the visitors from Somerset into bat. It seemed to be a smart move when, before I'd even taken my seat, Vernon Philander removed ex-England opener Marcus Trescothick.

The South African test star has struggled to settle since joining the county but really got his teeth into the action today, with tight probing bowling that maybe deserved even more success than was shown by his final figures of 4-56. Luke Wood ably assisted Philander but Jake Ball and Harry Gurney struggled to keep the pressure on the visitors and it looked like Somerset would head to lunch having seen off the worst of the early morning pressure.

Then up stepped Steven Mullaney. He relished the conditions and made a breakthrough by beating Johann Myburgh for length, just when a half century was in his grasp. His partner James Hildreth then fell to Philander - the third of seven batsmen clean bowled during the day - as the game turned. The icing on the cake for the home side was provided when Tom Cooper came and went - just like that! - for a five-ball one, another victim of Mullaney. 101-5 made it Notts' morning.

After a nice lunch time pint - the Belhaven Golden Bay in the Pavilion - I expected (and hoped) Chris Read's men might turn the screw and limit the visitors to at least below 250, but it wasn't to be.

Some excellent aggressive hitting from Peter Trego (41) and that perennial fly in the ointment James Allenby (64) wrestled control back for Somerset, their efforts taking them to 241-8 before James Overton strode to the crease and stole the show.

The tall number 10 powered his way to the sort of quick scoring innings that wouldn't have been amiss in a Twenty20, with 11 4s in an impressive 31-ball 55. It was only when Gurney finally bowled full and straight that his damaging knock came to an end after tea. Still, when Luke Wood smashed Tim Groenewald's stumps to finish the innings off, Somerset would surely have been delighted with their total of 312.

Notts then faced a tricky 24 overs before the end of the day. Steven Mullaney seemed to ride his luck a little and, just when he was starting to settle, fell to a slightly harsh looking lbw decision. Debutant Greg Smith then added just 8 before himself falling lbw to a decision that appeared more clear cut.

Then, with two Taylors at the crease, it was a case of toughing it out against some tight bowling from Trego (8-4-17-0) and Groenewald (9-4-16-1). While the early overs gave a few too many 'leave-able' balls to the batsmen, this pair had the bit between their teeth by the end - vociferously appealing a couple of close lbw shouts against Brendan Taylor. As the spectators shivered in increasingly cool conditions and the floodlights were called upon to lift the gloom, both Taylors just about clung on, Brendan ending on 11 off 73 balls.

And that was that. It's probably curious to fans of other sports to leave a day's action with nothing decided but seeing the ultimate result isn't necessary to enjoy the cricket. If the weather forecast is to be believed then it may be a struggle to get a result in this game in the next three days but that didn't matter today. Good cricket, good company and a great setting all made for an enjoyable day. More people ought to learn to love the appeal of this gem of the British summer.

Sir Harry shone in Spooks' big screen outing

In some respects Spooks is a pretty odd choice to get the 'big screen treatment'. Don't get me wrong, I loved the TV show. It's just that I always imagined that for a series to make the transition from the smaller screen it'd need to contain most of the elements - and characters - that make it a popular programme.

Yet Spooks ended in 2011 so doesn't have a current 'following' and has always prided itself on being a show that bumps off its big name stars in a regular and ruthless fashion ever since 'that moment' with the chip fryer in series one.

In fact 'ruthless' is a pretty accurate picture of where we were at when the show ended - with the much loved stalwart Ruth Evershed meeting her demise to break the heart of Sir Harry Pearce.

So, having been taken off television and without a band of established characters to explore further, why make a film? Still, bizarre and illogical as the timing might have been, Spooks: The Greater Good worked.

Yes, this was just, in essence, an extended TV episode and, yes, it might've meant less if you hadn't got a deep affinity for Sir Harry's character, but this was a film that captured what was greart about the show at its height. Those strengths being good, pacy character-driven storytelling, regular deaths of big name stars to keep you on your toes and truck loads of tension.

If anything, the lack of too many established characters probably helped make this a film that could be enjoyed by someone with no knowledge of the TV programme. It also left open a berth for a main star which was ably filled by Kit Harington. The Game of Thrones actor brought a necessary wider appeal to the film and filled the posters in a way that Peter Firth might have struggled to do.

Harington and Firth hit it off pretty well as a duo too, both conveying characters with a rich, dark past that added to their mystique. Harington provided the action and Firth, playing a rogue, wrongly-accused Pearce, provided subterfuge and bastardry (with a splash of humanity) that makes his one of my all-time favourite TV characters. Firth's performance ensured the many layers he built up over years on TV were brought out before the cinema audience. He surely deserves another outing?

It all looked great on the screen with the odd explosion thrown in to keep the pace up but, as ever with Spooks, this was more about the substance than the style. It doesn't try to take on Bourne and Bond, but nor should it. There's more than one way to skin a spy story and this was no worse for not having more chase sequences or pyrotechnics.

Elyes Gabel played a believable and not-one-dimensional Adam Qasim, the dangerous on-the-run terrorist who escapes from the clutches of MI5 to set up the plot. Tim McInnerny's Oliver Mace perhaps strayed a little too into the stereotypical bracket, as did David Harewood's Warrender, while Jennifer Ehle had a guessable-but-still-enjoyable ending.

Still a few poorly fleshed out characters aside (more than made up for in my book by the return of Malcolm) this was a strong return for Spooks. It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, comes next for Sir Harry and co. More along these lines would certainly be for the 'greater good'...

Hamiltons watched on as Conservatives held off UKIP charge in target seat

Boston and Skegness stayed Tory blue in the end, with Matt Warman replicating his party's strong performance across the country and taking the seat with a 4,336 majority.

Matt Warman delivers a victory speech at 6.30am

It was a long old night at the Peter Paine Sports Centre in Boston; the eight-and-a-half-hour count took its toll on a bleary eyed Neil and Christine Hamilton, who were denied the chance to celebrate with their young protege - the 22-year-old Robin Hunter Clarke failing to capture the seat despite a 15.1 per cent swing to his party.

When the Hamiltons turned up at about 12.30am, the night was young and many predicted a tight race that could've seen politics' odd-couple celebrating. Christine was all smiles - ruffling the hair of a couple of policemen and mingling while Neil gave interviews to the press, who latched on the chance to fill the 'there's nothing happening' void with some material.

Neil Hamilton came to support his young protege...but would he have done better?

Still, the smiles soon faded as the war of attrition set in. We waited and waited, restlessly shifting from the 'press room' to the TV and back into the counting hall as it became clear this was going to be a slog. The count itself didn't begin until just before 2am thanks to some delayed papers from the Skegness end of the constituency which delayed the verification process.

It proved a long and fruitless night for the Hamiltons

The long hours not only sapped away at the energy but also the chances of a UKIP win - more and more senior Tories re-iterated that they fancied a win - with predictions ranging from 2,000-6,000. Like the 10pm exit poll that shocked the country, they were spot on. Yet it was 6.30am before the result, which by then had become inevitable, was confirmed.

Warman, the now ex head of technology at the Daily Telegraph, proved a solid contender for the party after emerging from a fairly closely contested primary. He did enough to convince the party's traditional supporters - which are especially strong in number in the villages - to stick with the Tories after a somewhat fractious end to his predecessor's time as MP.

Mark Simmonds may have earned a 12,426 majority in 2010 but by last year relations had soured with local Tories, who felt he neglected his constituency duties after becoming a junior foreign office minister. Many felt his resignation - and comments about the pay and conditions of an MP - were framed in a way to 'get back' at his critics. Of course we may never know what Simmonds truly felt since he turned down several offers of an interview with the local press. He still lives in the area and I'm told he did vote for his replacement and offer him support.

Still, senior Conservatives in the town feel that if he had been on the ballot paper on Thursday UKIP would've won.

So, if the right name was on the ballot for the Tories, was it for UKIP? It was certainly a bold move to install a 22-year-old candidate to such a high profile target seat, especially given that it had, from the outside, appeared to have been Neil Hamilton's chosen location for a potential political comeback. Hamilton mysteriously pulled out of an in-house party hustings to pave the way for Robin so, I asked, did he think he'd have done better?

Hamilton said: "It's hard to say. I am a controversial figure on the one hand, but on the other hand I do have 50 years experience of fighting elections [he joined the Conservative party aged 15 in 1964] and I do have a war chest from supporters that could've helped my campaign. So, who knows?"

He did go on to praise the young runner-up though, saying the party 'couldn't have had a better candidate' and that he hoped Robin would fight again in five years time.

Robin Hunter-Clarke remained upbeat in his post-defeat interviews

Robin, a county councillor, says he aims to do just that. He believes the Conservatives 'played the SNP card' to great effect but says the result showed people were wrong to question his ability as a candidate.

He told me: "I am pleased with the result. We shaved thousands off their majority and saw the biggest swing to UKIP in the whole country - nobody can question my age or ability, I have proved myself.
"I have grown massively in confidence and have enjoyed every single second."

He was one of many people - Green candidate Victoria Percival included - to join the call for electoral reform, highlighting the fact that earning the third largest share of the national vote only earned UKIP one MP.

He added: "Clearly the electoral system is broken and needs to be fixed but I'm afraid turkeys don't vote for Christmas and the Conservatives won't change the system that's led them to victory."

He backed UKIP to work with other minority parties - an unlikely alliance with the Greens it seems! - to press the need for change.

The victorious Warman, however, said the electorate had had the chance to change the system with the AV referendum of 2011 and felt 'first past the post' was still the best way to deliver stable Governments.

The new MP laughed off my cheeky question about any potential job in the new Cameron administration - instead saying he intends to use his influence to get key figures to come to the constituency and address its issues.

There is a strong sense in Boston that it is 'forgotten' and while Warman feels some of that is a perception - pointing to the cash for a new flood barrier as an example - he accepts that there's some truth in it, especially when it comes to the need for 'big ticket infrastructure'.

As part of his campaign he brought Jeremy Hunt and Chris Grayling to the constituency. While that aimed to show voters that a Tory MP could have the ear of big hitters in the Government, he hopes it will be a blueprint to prove to voters that the area's issues are being heard.

It's a stark contrast to the bizarre visit of Andrew Lansley, the then-health minister, to the Pilgrim Hospital in Boston in 2012. He came on the invitation of Mark Simmonds but everything possible was done to give the press the slip - including changing the plan to take Lansley out of the building around the back to avoid us. Excuses, bizarrely, included that it was the London mayoral election and a minister couldn't talk to us as a result. When we later happened upon Lansley walking through the town, he was only too happy to give us a quick chat. Simmonds, it turned out, was lobbying for cash to replace the maternity unit and probably could've done with the public support he could've got by involving the press and public but he just wasn't that sort of MP; only later turning to the paper when bureaucrats failed to cash in on the support Lansley had given for the project.

Warman will need to be more open with voters and involve them in the politics he carries out from here - big name visits are fine but the ridiculous subterfuge of the Lansley visit must be avoided.
The hospital too, with the threat to some of its services, is a huge issue for him to get his teeth into.

Still, getting back to the night, and why did Warman think his party could prove the pollsters wrong and gain a majority?

He said: "Evidently there's an element of 1992 about it. What we have seen is that, when it came to the crucial moment at the ballot box, people have realised that the economy was too precious to risk and people realised that David Cameron was a far better option than Ed Miliband, and they also didn't want the SNP to prop up a Labour Government."

He wouldn't be drawn into comment on his defeated rivals, but felt his party offered more 'solutions' to the issues UKIP posed than any other, alongside a 'positive vision'.

So, how about leaving his job at the Telegraph? Many people, after all, would love to be at the front of the queue to test and talk about the latest technology as he has been.

He explained: "I came to the conclusion a few years ago that I wanted to be an actor and not a critic."
He said that issues such as Facebook privacy made him feel passionate but that: "If you really care about this stuff then the only way to make a difference is if you're not on the sidelines."

But what about technology when it comes to voting? Perhaps inspired by the marathon count I asked if he thinks we'll soon be voting and counting in a very different way?

He said: "It's very hard to come up with a more secure system than what we have at the moment. It might be old fashioned but it works. I am not romantic about this stuff but it's working and you should be very careful about replacing it with something that's risky."

So there we have it - we'll probably still be sitting there until 6.30am next time too but we shouldn't moan. For a journalist there's something enjoyable about count night. The atmosphere is like no other and it wouldn't quite be the same without the test of endurance that means you've still got to be able to ask key questions despite being half awake. Maybe Matt's right?

Full result:
Matt Warman (Conservative), 18,981, 43.8% (-5.7)
Robin Hunter-Clarke (UKIP), 14,645, 33.8% (+24.3)
Paul Kenny (Labour), 7,142, 16.5% (-4.2)
David Watts (Lib Dem), 1,015, 2.3% (-12.4)
Victoria Percival (Green), 800, 1.8%
Chris Pain (Independence From Europe), 324, 0.7%
Peter Johnson (Ind), 170, 0.4%
Lyn Luxton (Pilgrim Party), 143, 0.3%
Robert West (BNP), 119, 0.3% (-5)

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Of course it wasn't all positive for the Tories on Thursday night/Friday morning. The more hardcore of us among the press carried on until 10.30am when the final Boston Borough Council result came in. Not Sky, they buggered off as soon as they'd done their post-victory interview with Matt Warman - although hats off to them for arranging to install their own internet connection to the venue for the night, that's the sort of planning and resources local media could only dream of!

The results here were more exciting and close than the General Election race that came before. UKIP - which had no seats going into the vote - and the Tories were neck and neck throughout and ended on 13 seats apiece on the 30-seat council. It meant the Conservatives have lost overall control of the council, although, in an immediate twist, look to have already picked up one councillor who has fallen out with UKIP before even taking his seat. At 14-12 with two independents and two Labour members they should just about be able to carry on in charge - but not without a fair few headaches along the way.

With more cuts to come to local Government this could be a really testing time for the council going forward. It proves, too, that the UKIP surge in Boston cannot be written off.

Voting does matter...even in safe seats

The General Election campaign will drag on a few days more yet but for many people it will have seemed all over before it began.

Take South Holland and the Deepings, for example. The seat is held by Conservative John Hayes who, in 2010, won a 21,880 majority with 59.1 per cent of the vote. The only questions to be decided on Thursday are whether his vote will be nearer 50 or 60 per cent this time and who will come second.

But, maybe it's time to look at the way we vote differently. In this election I think the share of the public vote will actually matter, even if it doesn't directly impact on the outcome of seats such as South Holland and the Deepings. There's two reasons for this:

*Firstly, it still appears as though no-one will win an outright majority. That means the potential for coalition negotiations or, possibly, a minority government. Whilst it's seats that matter I actually think that if this figure is incredibly close the share of the vote could be seen as a factor to help 'legitimise' a government. If there are two sides with roughly equal numbers of seats but one clearly attracted a greater number of people to place their 'X' then it could act as a tie breaker - a bit like goal difference in football. So, while whoever came second in South Holland might seem irrelevant, the votes given to the parties here could prove important.

*Vote share could also be important when looking to the future of British politics. One knock-on effect of the rise of UKIP has been to spread the calls for voting reform beyond the Lib Dems and Greens. Between the three of them they could attract 25-30 per cent of the vote but end up with fewer than five per cent of the seats. I can foresee a situation where that sort of calculation starts to tip the balance towards the need for reform. So, to return to dear old South Holland and the Deepings, a vote for an outsider party in that constituency may strengthen the case for reform and serve to highlight the declining relevance of 'first past the post'. Equally, if you don't feel that way, it's clear that a vote for the Tories or Labour can help bolster the status quo in such a scenario.

In some respects non-Tory voters have a free reign in South Holland and the Deepings just as non Labour voters would in Bootle or West Ham. They know who their MP will be come Friday morning so they don't need to think tactically, they should simply vote for who they like - let a site such as Votes for Policies help you choose if you're unsure - and know that there's no reason why that vote won't matter in either the short or long term.

I always think that not voting simply allows the political system to be dominated by those people who blindly support one party. That vocal, tribal, card-carrying, bandwagon-jumping minority of political nutters then gets its voice heard loudest. When the overall race is as close as this one we shouldn't leave it to them.




PS: I gave my verdict on how the five candidates for South Holland and the Deepings fared at a recent hustings event for the Spalding Voice. Read it here.