This gag-packed adaptation of Eric Morecambe\u2019s children\u2019s books \u2013 by the writing team behind Alan Partridge \u2013 is full of stunning comic talent. Bill Bailey, Ross Noble, Tom Davies, Sian Clifford and Asim Chaudhry are all brilliant<\/p>\n
Oh my goodness; how long has it been since we all had a lovely teatime treat? Too long, that\u2019s how long! But now joy is at hand, courtesy of Neil and Rob Gibbons (the pair behind the most recent incarnations of Alan Partridge) and The Reluctant Vampire. It is their adaptation of Eric Morecambe\u2019s 1982 children\u2019s book of the same name and its 1983 sequel, The Vampire\u2019s Revenge. They have kept the books\u2019 warmth and daftness and added their own talents to the six-part series for youngsters. There are jokes for parents in there too, but the brothers have wisely kept the exquisite cruelty with which they craft Alan\u2019s misadventures safely stowed away.<\/p>\n
Here is the tale of an undead royal-ish family (temporarily usurped a few generations back when the paterfamilias choked on a scab), living a traditional vampiric life in their traditionally gothic castle. There is proud patriarch Victor (Tom Davis), who revels in the hunting and draining of the humans he despises (\u201cI see,\u201d he says, looking round the overdecorated bedroom of his latest about-to-be-victim, \u201cyou have a keen eye for tat\u201d). He is married to Valeeta (Sian Clifford) \u2013 they share a hot-to-trot vibe with Gomez and Morticia of The Addams Family films \u2013 and they have two children. Vernon (an absolutely wonderful turn from Gabriel Nagy in his first major screen role) is a chip off the old block, loving the vampire life and able to identify blood vintages with a single sip (\u201cPoor circulation \u2026 lavender \u2026 the neck of a Flemish merchant?\u201d).<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/d27d91cf440366be7e509bfab0f8c2b020f6eed3\/417_33_3484_2788\/master\/3484.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=beadfb1c9949fc36a481d4173d7361ad\" "\\"The")
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"