Pantalone has in an audacious plan to steal a consignment of diamonds worth a tasty twelve million. But he’s hired a complete bunch of double-crossing clowns to do it.

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith’s anthology series returns for a sixth season with a high concept crime caper that fuses Reservoir Dogs with dad jokes so old that they probably qualify for preservation orders.

As this half-hour caper opens, it’s all very knowing and theatrical as the cast of mostly masked characters gather in a hidden lair to run through the plans for a jewellery heist. With names like Arlo and Scaramouche it’s apparent that this instalment has its roots in the world of Italian theatre commedia dell’arte, with Gemma Whelan’s (Game of Thrones) Columbina providing a narrative directly to the camera.

Kevin Bishop and Paterson Joseph are welcome additions to the guest cast, and I suspect you won’t be able to guess exactly how things will pan out. One particularly painful series of bad jokes sunburst itself and creates a funnier punchline than the telegraphed one suggested. Doubles crosses, double entendres, meta conversations and mixed messages follow, the play turning out to be as clever as it thinks it is, but then I’ve always enjoyed the convoluted twists and turns of a vintage play.

Verdict: The joint imaginations of Pemberton and Shearsmith continue to astound and impress. This series opener features a bizarre combination of genres, and yet ridiculously it all works. Bravo. 8/10  

Nick Joy