Richy Rich

Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I love Eddie Izzard more than I love chocolate biscuits, possibly more than I love pizza and Buffy the Vampire Slayer combined, more than I would love to own every pair of shoes Manolo Blahnik ever made, and that I would follow Eddie Izzard into the very pits of hell if he so desired. Probably even if he didn't.

It will not surprise the miniscule proportion of humanity in the category of 'knows me well' to hear, therefore, that I am absolutely determined to like his new series, The Riches. It's a confusing little show, so far, but it's not turning out to be an unpleasant experience.

Eddie plays a drifter who, along with his family, takes over the lives of a super-rich family they accidentally run off the road into a swamp with their motorhome. Ethically iffy, I'll admit, but very amusing. He sounds a little odd with his American twang that, bless him, he periodically forgets he's meant to have, but he's still got the beautiful Eddie twinkle.

Minnie Driver's not half bad in this either - I went off her for a while when she turned all prima donna, but she's always had one of the most infectious laughs in Hollywood and she was born for this role, she's hilarious in it.

You can catch The Riches on the big old lie that is the new Virgin 1 channel - all that hype and such small trousers. They made it sound as if it was a sparkling new channel with all new programmes unavailable everywhere else, but thus far that's only true of The Riches and everything else is thieved from Living and Bravo. Pffftt. The second programme ever shown was called Penis Envy, that tells you all you could possibly wish to know.

But it's worth tuning in to catch the beautiful, wonderful, fabulous Eddie, who is my hero and long-term crush object. And if you've managed to live this long without hearing him do stand-up and laughing till you cry with him then, well, shame on you and all who sail in you.