It's true. Miracles do happen. At an age when he should be putting his well-shod feet up Woody Allen has made his best film in years. I didn't think it was possible but Blue Jasmine, which has been receiving rave reviews in America and has already created an Oscar buzz for its star Cate Blanchett, really is a return to form. Of sorts, that is. 

Lee Evans is one of comedy's most versatile superstars. He can fill arenas with his stand-up shows, he can do Samuel Beckett and he was sensational in the stage version of The Producers. So quite what he is doing in this steaming pile of potty-mouthed would-be farce is a bit of a mystery. The late Clive Exton's play, written in 2005, has never been performed before and judging by its opening night I think I can see why. 

Someone somewhere is surely writing a book on the north-south divide in comedy. And if they aren't maybe I should. It does seem that the north of England dominates when it comes to chatty, mainstream observational humour. Maybe it comes from a long tradition of gossiping over garden fences while snooty southerners keep themselves to themselves. Maybe northerners have to nurture more of a sense of humour because they are the ones that seem to get hit hardest whenever there is a recession.

James Corden has certainly had a rollercoaster of a career in recent years. He has gone from award-winning hero in Gavin & Stacey to zero in his sketch show with Mathew Horne and then back to award-winning hero again with his acclaimed stage performance in One Man Two Guvnors in London and on Broadway. By the law of averages he should be due for another flop. But it doesn't look like backlash number two is going to happen with six-part comedy thriller The Wrong Mans, which he co-created and co-stars in.