Geoff Tipps is on a deadly mission, Benjamin unwillingly participates in a ritual and Pop is back in town.

Series 4 of the popular comedy-horror hybrid features none of the meta ‘actors interacting with their characters’ that featured in League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse, but I don’t for one second imagine that the number 9 on the door of one of Royston Vasey’s properties is anything but a very big wink for fans of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s excellent anthology show. Structured like a 90-minute movie that has been carved into three, this second part brings back more of the locals (you don’t really want me to spoil who) while also ramping up the ‘town in peril’ threat.

The Olly Plimsoll sketch in particular is heart-breaking – one minute we’re laughing at his bitter resentment towards his former colleagues and the ‘on the nose’ nature of his social dramas, but then we share his sadness at being left behind and preparing for retirement after an unfulfilled life. Geoff Tipps also has a grim task to undertake – surely he won’t mess this up?

There’s also a new bingo caller essayed by Mark Gatiss, using bingo terminology in his monologue – a snippet of the darkest iteration of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads. For me, it’s the confidence of the writing that comes through. All four members of the League (let’s not forget Jeremy Dyson) have gone on to write fantastic work post-League – Psychoville, Inside No. 9, Sherlock, Ghost Stories – and that maturity in their craft means that they aren’t relying on easy reprisals of character catchphrases. Every resurrected character has been looked at, and the question asked: ‘What would X be doing now? Will they be stuck in that 2002/5 time warp or will they have moved on in life?’

Verdict: As the middle act of the story, Save Royston Vasey builds up the jeopardy, ramps up the melancholia, and still throws in a killer gag or two. 8/10

Nick Joy