UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE (BIG BOYS)

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It's been quite a year for Dylan Llewellyn.

'Derry Girls' came to a rather emotional end in May.

He turned up as Wally Nightingale, the rejected member of the Sex Pistols, in Danny Boyle's Disney+ miniseries 'Pistol'.

And in the month the former 'Hollyoaks' actor said goodbye to one Channel 4 sitcom, he fronted another.

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The show in question, 'Big Boys' is a creation of Watford comedian and documentary filmmaker Jack Rooke.

Best known for BBC3's 'Happy Man,' he has acquired a bit of a reputation over the years for addressing issues like male mental health, coming out and coping with grief.

All of these themes figure largely in his new Channel 4 sitcom 'Big Boys'which is based on his book 'Cheer The F**k Up' and his Edinburgh Fringe shows 'Good Grief,' 'Happy Hour' and 'Love Letters'.

Llewellyn is cast as Jack, a shy 19-year-old journalism student who takes a gap year after the unexpected death of his father.

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Jack is gay but hasn't come out to his loving, taxi cab driving mum Camille Codouri's Peggy because she seems to harbour dreams of him settling down with a nice girl and having children.

He also wonders what his dad might have made of his sexuality.

Eventually he is packed off to Brent University where Jack and another mature student, Joe Pointing's 25-year-old Danny are told there are no rooms in halls for them.

They are housed instead in a disused shed, with Peggy doing her best to tart up their makeshift rooms when she visits.

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Jack and Danny hit it off as friends, with the former revealing to his laddish mate that he is gay.

It doesn't bother Danny who is quite enthusiastic throughout the series about trying to help Jack find the right bloke to lose his virginity to.

With his Margate patter, Danny fancies himself as a bit of a hit with the ladies and has some initial success on campus.

However Izuka Hoyle's Oxbridge reject Corinne is one student who is not easily impressed - even though she gravitates towards a friendship with Jack and Danny.

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The fourth member of the group is Olisa Odele's fashion student Yemi, a gay man who Jack has a disastrous encounter with during Freshers Week but who also takes it upon himself to help the journalism student explore his sexuality.

Rooke and director Jim Archer deliver often bawdy but amusing portraits of student life and it will bo doubt strike a chord with many.

From the awkward first weeks as a fresher to Christian campus events to Student Union nightouts, every detail is spot on.

However they are also blessed with an enthusiastic cast.

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In the lead role, Llewellyn turns in a sweet natured performance as Jack who feels like a gay version of his 'Derry Girls' character James.

That's a plus rather than a negative and he gels really well with the rest of the cast - bringing no ego to the performance and enjoying the moments where they get to shine.

When asked to deliver his big dramatic moment - Jack's coming out - Llewellyn is well up to the task in a brilliantly handled scene with Codouri that will move many viewers.

Hoyle and Odele are also effective as Corinne and Yemi, while Codouri turns in a heartfelt performance as Peggy.

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Annette Badland and Harriet Webb are good value also as Nanny Bingo and Cousin Shannon, while Robert Gilbert is assured as Tim, a lecturer who Jack develops a crush for.

Katy Wix amuses too as Jules, the kind of person who just can't let university go and winds up enthusiastically working in a students union years after graduating.

Every university has several people just like Jules.

Joe Lycett's sidekick Mark Silcox has a recurring role as a security man on the campus who mistrusts Jack and Danny.

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However the standout performance is Pointing's as a working class lad who enthusiastically tries to embrace the university experience but really struggles.

Pointing handles the shifts in tone particularly well, eking out laughter on one level and engaging our sympathy on another when Danny's struggles with mental health and his thin family support come to light.

There's an undercurrent of sadness and inevitable tragedy to his performance and the wider show.

Nevertheless Rooke conjures up memorable episodes built around Freshers Week, a safe sex campaign, Christmas, gay dating aps, the death of a goldfish called Alison Hammond and coming out.

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While not every gag is a home run, there's plenty of laughs and enough in there to suggest that there are more to come, with 'Big Boys' getting the nod in August for Series Two.

'Big Boys' strikes you as a show that could reach greater heights.

We're looking forward to second year at Brent University already.

('Big Boys' was broadcast on Channel 4 from May 26-June 9, 2022)