Comedy Premieres

Reception

Cold Feet was praised by The Times, where Matthew Bond called it "an enjoyable one-off comedy aimed at anybody who's ever been single, married, or had children." He added that its broad appeal, boosted by Helen Baxendale leading a strong cast, demonstrated what ITV could achieve. An ITV committee chose Cold Feet to represent the network in the comedy-drama category at the Montreux Television Festival. There, it won the Silver Rose in the Humour category and the Golden Rose of Montreux, the festival's top prize. Later that year, it also took home the Best Comedy Drama (ITV) award at the British Comedy Awards.

The Chest received a preview from Alexander Chancellor in The Observer, who described it as "homely" and noted that viewers who could tolerate implausible plots and inconclusive endings might find it enjoyable, but should not expect many laughs. In The Independent, Tina Ogle remarked that Neil Morrissey played a "typical fluffy bunny," but singled out Jim Carter as the standout performer. Thomas Sutcliffe, also writing for The Independent, was harsher on Morrissey, accusing him of putting on "his 10-year-old boy act," and concluded that the show "makes you want to run someone through with a cutlass." Matthew Bond criticized the story as "a familiar variation of a familiar story," though he praised the main cast for holding it together.

The Grimleys earned acclaim for its 1970s nostalgia. Mark Lawson called it "a rare example of a period sitcom" and compared the character Darren Grimley to Adrian Mole. John Millar of the Daily Record predicted a full series would follow the pilot, while Eddie Gibb of The Scotsman named it the best sitcom of the year. The broadcast drew 4.6 million viewers, capturing a 42% audience share.

King Leek was hailed in The People as having "sheer comic class," with the reviewer praising both the leads and supporting cast, and calling it the best of the four comedy premieres. Matthew Bond, however, wrote that Billy Ivory had created "something so black that it was nigh on impossible to see the comedy at all." Desmond Christy of The Guardian was equally disappointed and expressed hope that no series would follow the pilot.