I finished watching the third series of Staged recently and I’ve been trying to decide how I feel about it to be able to write this post. The truth is, I don’t know how I feel about it. Oh, it was good, obviously. In Simon Evans we trust, because this was another series that subverted the format of the previous two and added an extra layer of complexity and ‘how much of what we’re seeing do we believe’ and who is going to guest star this time?

It took me a while to get the documentary format into my head and by the time I did, it was almost over. I liked the first episodes that were more of what we knew, and I really liked the last couple that were about trying to make a radio show happen. The moments in between bridged the gap but weren’t my favourite.

I have that slightly uncomfortable feeling of ‘was it really necessary’ where I loved the ending of the second series so much that I sort of didn’t want to pull at this thread. It’s the same feeling I had after Peter Kay’s Car Share came back and I have grown to love that so should learn a lesson from that experience.

And ultimately, the joy of the show is watching David Tennant and Michael Sheen banter - either as friends or as rivals but always with an undercurrent of respect and a deep friendship. Lots of people said they were moved by the ending but I thought it was just perfect. Them taking a break from each other doesn’t mean it’s over and also means their friendship can grow for different reasons outside of Simon and his career.

Ultimately, it was more of the lovely same, with Georgia continuing to be a breakout star but the bickering of our heroic duo the heart and soul of the show.