Channel 4 is presumably pretty pleased with new sitcom High & Dry. It was originally due to air on E4 but has had an upgrade and now goes out on C4. Is their confidence justified? It is probably down to how much you can bear obnoxious characters.

Well, one obnoxious character in particular. The plot finds a group of airline passengers stranded on a desert island. Marc Wootton plays Brett Sullivan, a monstrous, needy, insecure, self-obsessed, selfie-obsessed steward who promptly declares himself king of the island.

By comparison the other Robinson Crusoes appear to be relatively well-adjusted. There is retired headmistress Harriet (Vicki Pepperdine), decent family man Douglas (Harry Peacock), zombie-fixated Arnab (Asim Chaudhry) and creepy Susan (Grace Rex).

Can this odd bunch survive together? Well, they might have a better chance of getting off the island if Brett wasn't constantly scuppering their chances of escape. We shall no doubt find out the reasons for his behaviour as the series goes along  but for a first episode which needs to do a lot of introduction this feels oddly padded out by scences of Brett dancing and prancing around like a tit the beach. 

High & Dry certainly looks good, having been filmed on location in the Seychelles, though weirdly I kept expecting Bear Grylls to walk into shot. And it's a good idea for a sitcom, which depends on people being trapped togther - in a  office, a family or, well a desert island. But whether you will stick with it will depend on whether Marc Wootton's Brett makes you want to scream in frustration or howl with laughter. 

 Fridays at 10.30pm on C4 from May 4.