DAVID Renwick is a comedy genius.
He’s the writer who created classic shows like One Foot In The Grave and Jonathan Creek.
David is also the man behind that absolutely pitch perfect delight which is Love Soup.
I first heard his name over 30 years ago when, aged 19 and a few months out of journalism college, I took up a job as junior reporter on the Luton News.
On my first day, the news editor informed me that I was sat at the very same desk once occupied by another young man called David Renwick.
David had sold jokes to BBC Radio, Cliff Richard and The Two Ronnies.
And two years before my arrival, he had vacated this reporter’s desk to pursue a full time TV writing career.

David seemed to be doing OK, I was told.
But I wondered what would become of him, having surely made a rash decision to leave behind the world of police calls, vox pops and shuffling the horoscopes.
You get a clear idea of David’s outlook on life via Richard Wilson’s wonderful portrayal of Victor Meldrew in One Foot In The Grave.
And the second series of BBC1’s Love Soup demonstrates yet again just how much work he must put in to each script he writes.
Last Saturday night’s story – Ragged Claws – was like a mini feature film, and near perfect television.
If you missed it and live in the UK, you can still watch the episode on the BBC iPlayer, where it is available for seven days after transmission.

Tamsin Greig is again mesmerising as Alice, alongside Sheridan Smith and Montserrat Lombard as Cleo and Milly.
Add in David’s masterful scripts about the mysteries of love, life and missing earrings and you have something very special indeed.
Fans will already know that David’s wife Ellie used to work, like Alice, as a perfumery account manager in a large department store.
Ellie’s old apartment block in Hove has also been used for exterior shots of Alice’s home.
Some of Love Soup’s other exterior locations happen to be on my own doorstep.
If you’ve missed out on this second series, there are still seven episodes left to enjoy on Saturday nights.
And a DVD box set of series one and two is out next Monday.
Love Soup: BBC Site
BBC iPlayer
Love Soup DVDs
David Renwick: Screenonline
A Running Jump Into The Grave