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