A couple of years ago I interviewed Micky Flanagan in his house and as I was leaving I noticed Danny Baker’s autobiography on his shelf. Flanagan and Baker are about the same age and, it turned out, had similar working class upbringings in London. Flanagan told me that judging by the book, which Cradle To Grave is based on, Baker’s feelgood life story was just like his, but with the bad bits taken out.

Well, there’s a bit of sadness this week in the penultimate episode, with Danny’s brother Michael taking acid for the first time with not-so-hilarious results. Although when he sees a phone box while tripping and it starts changing shape and size it does seem like crazy far out fun. Well done to the special effects department. 

That’s not the only downside to this episode either, with hints that Spud’s wife is forming an interesting if platonic friendship with a colleague at the biscuit factory. But overall the mood is still relentlessly upbeat, with Danny finding that being mistaken for David Essex’s younger sibling pays countless dividends in the romance department

I must admit I thought that Cradle to Grave might not have traded so much on being sentimental and a nostalgiafest, given Baker’s obvious sophisticated wit and intelligence. But the former NME writer has gone for a populist touch here and it does work fantastically well. And Peter Kay, of course, certainly has the mainstream touch as amiable rogue Spud, which makes him pretty well cast. Although maybe Micky Flanagan would have been better at the accent. 

Thursdays, 9pm, BBC2. Watch on iPlayer here.