Chris Ramsey: Offermation

Despite his trendy coiffured hair and his low-slung jeans, South Shields lad Chris Ramsey wins healthy respect early on, not least by admitting what a terrible word “offermation” is. It means, according to the Urban Dictionary, “information that is given without being asked for; especially information that is useless or is unwanted.” Fortunately, Ramsey is guilty of neither and, furthermore, he is quite right to observe that there's a lot of offermation about.

Engaging and genuine Ramsey's theme is nice and broad, and allows him to roam over all manner of modern ills from Chat Roulette to Geordie Shore where he finds angles that are pleasing, if not massively insightful.

His various routines are bound between three newsletters addressed to him from his mother's cousin and her husband, distant relations not seen by his mum in about half a century. What seems like an easy gimmick builds into something authentic and believable and, ultimately, to a well-executed finale.

Some comedians would have juiced even more out these letters by conjuring some extra, fabricated, examples. It is a credit to Ramsey and his down-to-earth integrity that he chooses not to, even if one or two more would have really helped emphasise his shift in perception of the missives from TMI (too much information) to something flawed but very warm and human.

With a solid hour building on last year's debut, Ramsey is already a consummate crowd-pleaser and he still has scope to grow.