Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have, over the last 25 plus years, established themselves as national treasures.

From their early days at the birth of "alternative" comedy through to solo projects such as Absolutely Fabulous and The Vicar Of Dibley, they are up there with the comedy greats of modern times.

So it was with great excitement that I hot-footed it to the Brighton Centre, only to be bitterly disappointed.

They are undoubtedly talented and experienced performers, but the paucity of good comic material was both shocking and puzzling. When Jennifer Saunders is capable of creating Absolutely Fabulous, why churn out substandard sketches that are lacking in substance?

Furthermore, much of the show was on video, which left one feeling short-changed, as the amount of time we actually saw our heroines live was cut down considerably.

Tellingly, some of the best bits were pre-filmed, whilst the live sketches in the main fell flat.

One of the best gags went thus: "Have you moved your bladder today?" "Yes." "Where to?" "Wokingham".

This is not what we expect from two of the leading lights of comedy. Could do better.