And so this is it. After 12 years can it really be the end for Jeremy and Mark? Are these two dysfunctional man-children actually going to sail off into the sunset after letting us hear their unedited internal monologues for one last series?

Well that probably seems to be the case, in which case it looks like they are going out in style. The first episode of series nine sustains the standard that we have been used to. And, as a bonus, it also features Tim Key.

Picking up where we left off, Jeremy (Robert Webb) and Mark (David Mitchell) have fallen out and are no longer flat-sharing. But they are forced together when Super Hans (Matt King) invites them both to his stag do. “No recriminations on the stag,” repeats Mark like a mantra. But how long will the truce last? The big shock of the episode is that Hans has cleaned up and is now juicing it to the max. Can the truce last longer than Super Hans staying clean? 

There have been a few other changes too. Mark now works in a bank – “I’m the Wolf of Wall Street” he mutters rather unconvincingly. And Jeremy is sleeping in a bath and eating toast cooked by the lavatory sink. 

Mark’s new flatmate is the aforementioned always-brilliant-if-becoming-ubiquitous Tim Key. “I’m the new improved you,” he informs Jeremy. It’s intriguing to wonder if in a parallel universe there are nine series of Peep Show starring Mitchell and Key. Although I’m not sure if that would work as Key’s nerdish book-lover is more like Mark than Jeremy. Uber Mark, if you like. 

So, no drop in form then from writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. Plenty of quotable lines and lots of laugh-out-loud moments. They have set the benchmark high here and there is still Olivia Colman to come. Let’s hope they can keep it up for the whole series. 

Peep Show, Wednesdays from November 11, 10pm, C4.

Read BTJ on Josh here.