Alex Shearer

All four series of the Eastern bloc embassy sitcom starring Dinsdale Landen. Set in a British embassy somewhere in Russia, as the Cold War draws to a close, this entertaining sitcom follows Her Majesty's Ambassador Mr Mackenzie as he navigates the idiosyncrasies of life behind the Iron Curtain. Together with his First Secretary, William Frost, and personal assistant Helen Waterson, he manages matters ranging from dissidents to diplomatic dinners, all while maintaining his urbane, unflappable demeanour. Engaging with Communism is challenging enough, but the era of glasnost and perestroika brings new problems - including tourism, press freedom and an outbreak of political sickness in the People's Republic.

However, Mackenzie battles on bravely, striving to dispense his own unique blend of British foreign policy and maintain the upper hand. Whether he's dealing with drug barons, hijackers, a Briton being held hostage or a container ship full of toxic waste, it's all in a day's overwork for the Ambassador. Not even an imminent revolution can faze him: but all distinguished careers must come to an end, and eventually it's time for Mackenzie to pack his diplomatic bags. But as he contemplates a bleak future in Britain, with no servants - and no knighthood - he finds himself facing one final crisis. Can he salvage some personal profit from someone else's disaster?

Bosworth Hartie was sure his parents could not inflict any more mental torture on him. Until, that is, they decide to find him a wife to keep him on the straight and narrow.

Mr Ellis’s class couldn’t keep their hands off the grisly exhibits at the Museum of Little Horrors. Now Michael’s feet have done a disappearing act, Ashwin’s desperate to sink his oddly sharp teeth into some schoolwork (and raw steak), and their teacher keeps howling at the moon. Can this fiendish class find a way to lift the evil curse?