I've mentioned it every week so I can't not write about the final episode in the series of Derek. Ricky Gervais certainly ended the series on a high, leaving Karl Pilkington's Dougie in charge of the only laugh-out-loud moments, and concentrating on wringing every drop of pathos out of what has been an outstanding series. Every episode so far has made the eyes swell, but last night it was full on tears and sobs from the very start with Lizzie's husband talking about how he copes with his wife's dementia. What has been a major selling point of this series, is how sensitively it has been handled. Unbelievably, there will still be people who think that Ricky Gervais is mocking people with learning difficulties, even though we don't know for sure that he has.

The rare display of anger from Derek at the suggestion that he meets his estranged father was interesting, as we haven't seen that side of him before. The talking heads from Hannah and Dougie about Derek were tear jerking enough, (long suffering Dougie admitting that Derek has the outlook on life that he wishes for), but what came next was a masterstroke. Kevin admitting that he had wasted his life, and that he envied Derek was a scene that nobody saw coming at all, it reached out from the television and punched you in the face, it was that powerful. The Kevin character has always felt a little bit strange and disjointed, and I struggled at first to see the point in this distraction. However, now we see why he was there all along, and it was a beautiful scene. The best bit was saved until the end though, when Derek snubbed his father at the funeral and we saw the funeral car pass the old man. That moment when Derek got out of the car and ran towards his long-lost father and hugged him was the moment that both Mandi and myself broke into uncontrollable sobs. It'll be interesting to see what happens to this new character in the next series. Ricky Gervais only makes two series and a special, so the last time we see Derek and his 'family' will be a hugely emotional episode. Let's face it, there were tears at the final edition of The Office, (in fact I am on record as saying that it is every bit as heart warming as It's A Wonderful Life), and the Celebrity Big Brother monologue in Extras also moistened the eye sockets. If he has that effect with comedy, then I'd better start stocking up on tissues now.

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