Radio Times Top 40 TV Shows of 2016: 40 to 31

The votes have been counted and the results are in... here's our critics' countdown of the year's best telly

39. Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back (C4)

There was more than a touch of Alan Partridge in Kevin Bishop’s comic portrayal of Nigel Farage, at a loose end after stepping down from the Ukip leadership. Somewhere between the satirical and the surreal, it followed Farage as he enjoyed boozy lunches in great British chop houses, attempted to lead his local cricket team to victory and, mostly, propped up the bar at the pub, supping patriotically-named ales like White Cliffs. Bishop had the mannerisms down to a tee – the wheezy chuckle, the raised finger and lean-in with every pronouncement. The only thing that wasn’t funny is that you might inadvertently have begun to develop a soft spot for this comedy politician. Maybe there was a lesson in there somewhere. Paul Jones

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