At last, something to fill the gaping void in the comedy schedules left by Little Britain: I Am Not An Animal. Written and directed by Peter Baynham (who has has a hand in almost everything funny on the television since 1995) and voiced by Simon Pegg, Julia Davis and Steve Coogan, it tells the story of a troupe of talking animals.

Bio-engineered in a sinister vivisection lab, the poor loves are doomed to live a life of loft-apartment luxury, with Heat magazine as their cultural barometer and an endless supply of Chianti fuelling dreams of visiting London. By the close of the opening episode, the gang have been freed by bungling animal rights vigilantes, left to find their way in the world.

As you might expect from a long-standing Chris Morris collaborator, the humour veers between sledgehammer bum-gags - two ‘My poo smells of sugar puffs’ scenes in one episode - and tickly little feather-duster subtleties, as in the titular nod to The Elephant Man.

The characters are wonderful, too. There’s Philip, a pompous intellectual horse, with endless gadgets allowing him to live the humanoid life. And Mark - my fave - the closet case sparrow with designs on the pop charts and an obsession with shoe trees. And a slutty self-styled femme fatale bulldog bitch, Winona, who has a crush on ‘the actor Tim Robbins.’

God, it’s just fabulous. View a short clip, right here.