So-called experts are always saying that the situation is crucial to the success of a situation comedy. So why is one sitcom about a subject a hit and not another? Back in the mists of time there was a BBC comedy about people who worked in a dreary office, but it didn’t take off. This wasn’t the Ricky Gervais classic, this was another desk-based series that pre-dated it, Nice Day At The Office. The script was good, it starred Tim Spall, but who remembers it? Just me.

I thought about Nice Day At The Office when I was watching Going Forward, which is a sort-of sequel to Getting On in which Jo Brand stars again as grumpy but well-meaning nurse Kim Wilde who has now left the hospital and is working in the private sector as a community care assistant. I hope this one takes off as the BBC didn’t recommission Nurse, the Paul Whitehouse sitcom with a very similar sit to go with the com. 

The difference here is that there is a more political undertow. Brand’s character now works for the impeccably named outsource provider Buccaneer 2000 so inevitably she is overworked, underpaid and constantly stressed out. Her husband Dave (Omid Djalili) is in a similar boat, making ends meet as a luxury car driver, never knowing whether his next fare is going to tip him, punch him or vomit in his car. Look out too for Tom Davis from Murder In Successville, who has a very pithy scene with Djalili as his fellow driver Terry.

I guess the title is a subtle dig at the NHS, which should be going forward but feels as if it is danger of going backwards at the moment. So far so grim, but luckily there are plenty of laughs along the way. The script feels loose and improvised with Brand and Djalili bouncing off each other nicely even if some of the storyline is a little far-fetched – is Dave so devoted to Kim he will take a detour to pick her up while he already has a swanky passenger in the back of his car? I'm not surprised his boss is peeved.

There are only three episodes in this run, which is a shame. Brand has become one of the highest profile comedians in the country in recent years and she is doing something here that is both relevant and funny. If Ken Loach made sitcoms they might be something like Going Forward.

Thursdays from May 19, 10pm, BBC4.