Every Mitchell And Webb Film And TV Project Ranked From Worst To Best

The Bleak Old Shop Of Stuff is a short lived but much loved series parodying the works of Charles Dickens, first airing on BBC2 between 2011 and 2012. The show lovingly pokes fun at the themes of Dickens’ books as well as the more extreme aspects of the Dickensian era like the horrendous living conditions of contemporary London and brutal corporal punishments in schools of the time.

Robert Webb leads the cast as Jedrington Secret-Past, owner of a curiosity shop. David Mitchell makes memorable guest appearances in 2 episodes as Jolliforth Jollington, a man who involuntarily inflates and deflates according to his current mood. Jedrington’s wife is played by multi-BAFTA award winning actress Katherine Parkinson, and the series contains further cameo appearances from a plethora of British comedy talent including Johnny Vegas, Stephen Fry and Tom Allen.

There was always limited legs in the series and the show bowed out before becoming stale after only 4 instalments.