I’m not really sure about BBC Three’s identity since it went online. It seems that one of its functions is to test the water to see if programmes are worth broadcasting on old school channels. Cuckoo went quickly from online to telly and I’m sure Josh Widdicombe’s flatshare sitcom Josh will do the same. And Fleabag is so blindingly excellent it ought to be on 'real' telly right now.

In the second episode we get a bit more back story about the eponymous lead character, played by writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and a lot more about masturbation and sex. She is torn between splitting from her emotionally delicate boyfriend Harry (Hugh Skinner) and getting back with him, but in the meantime spots a 48 hour window of opportunity to shag around.

In the end she and Harry decide to reignite their relationship by surprising each other. The only trouble is that his idea of a romantic surprise is something on the lines of an impromptu candelit dinner, while Fleabag’s idea is something on the lines of, erm, something that leaves him bawling his eyes out in the shower. 

Meanwhile she also has the problem of selling her mother’s stolen statue. Luckily her brother-in-law, played by American comic actor Brett Gellman, is an art dealer. He says he will help out, but something tells me that this is going to be a messy transaction down the line.

Fleabag is an intriguing hybrid. Not really sitcom, not really drama, conventional and yet unconventional, usually at the same time. Its main character is messed up yet you can't stop yourself from warming to her. Maybe there's a bit of Fleabag in all of us. 

Episode 2 is available here.

Read a review of episode 1 here.