That Mitchell And Webb Look (BBC2, 9.30pm); The Mentalist (Five, 9pm); Bruce Willis (Bio, 6.30pm)

WHEN a sketch show starts with an appearance by the disgruntled work-shy brother of Santa Claus refusing to go back on the production line and take his chances with the elves, you know you’re in for a surreal half hour.

You can also rest assured that you’re about to laugh your socks off, and that you’ve just entered the surreal world of Mitchell and Webb.

For the uninitiated, That Mitchell And Webb Look puts the emphasis on standalone sketches and one-off characters.

The first run of the show was peopled with strange and wonderful characters, like Sir Digby Chicken-Caesar, Biscuit Telekinesis Man, Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit.

“One of the key selling points of That Mitchell and Webb Look is that it doesn’t just consist of running characters and it hasn’t got many obvious catchphrases,”

says David Mitchell.

“The thing we are most proud of is the fact we’ve written most of the material ourselves.”

This third series is already shaping up to be the best yet, and against a sea of quality competitors such as Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, Mitchell and Webb are definitely contenders for the funniest double-act on the box.

It’s a glorious mix of returning favourites alongside new characters, all of which suggests that the duo are still full of ideas.

Tonight’s sketches include Mr Darcy at a freestyle disco, a carnivorous man at a vegetarian dinner party and a new adventure with drunken sleuth Sir Digby Chicken-Caesar.

Plus, there’s an unnecessarily honest best man, and the duo have an awkward meeting with the Queen. Their comedy puts some critics in mind of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in their pomp. Praise indeed.

It’s typical fare for the comedy partnership.

David Mitchell and Robert Webb have been performing together for 12 years, having met in Cambridge Footlights.

They starred in The Mitchell And Webb Situation before developing their fan base with That Mitchell And Webb Sound on BBC Radio 4, the precursor to the television series.

They starred in Channel 4’s Peep Show, are regular faces on the comedy circuit and honed their writing skills on two series of The Armstrong and Miller Show.

“It was incredibly useful, but very frustrating as a performer, which is why this experience is great,” says Webb.

“We write together and are pretty diplomatic when it comes to ideas and the final sketches. We have an ideas meeting which works really well and is great fun.”

ONE of the most engaging imports on the box continues to enthral – even if its title – The Mentalist – still makes us snigger.

This week, the agents are called to an upmarket resort and spa, where Claire Wolcott has been shot dead. At the time of the crime, the 32-year-old victim was in bed with her lover – ‘‘Which makes Mr Wolcott suspect number one”, according to Rigsby, while Lisbon points the finger at the mystery lover.

However, Patrick Jane (played by the watchable Australian Simon Baker) has his own ideas. Assessing the ballistics and blood spatter evidence, he suggests the victim’s lover was injured and fled the scene before the police arrived. A blood trail eventually leads the agents to Paul Fricke, a notorious Lothario currently bedding a different woman.

THANKS to those adverts for a certain insurance company, we probably all know by now that the Die Hard star’s real first name is the slightly less macho-sounding Walter.

However, if you’re keen to find out more trivia about Bruce Willis, then this programme should fit the bill perfectly.

Although he’s now best known for his movies, the actor got his big break on TV when he beat 3,000 other actors to the role of David Addison Jr, in the series Moonlighting.

The show’s success enabled him to make the leap onto the big screen.

Willis’ fame increased during his marriage to Demi Moore, but while he may not appear in the tabloids quite as regularly these days, this documentary proves he still has plenty of clout in Hollywood.