My Favourite Fictional people- Day 2

I love Satan.

It's true. I love Satan.

Let me say it one more time for those of you who didn't hear. I love Satan!

Before my wife brings in the local rector for exorcism, I think that I should I clarify this somewhat. I love Satan, the character from Andy Hamilton's brilliant Hell based sitcom Old Harry's Game.

If you haven't heard of it, Old Harry's Game can be found in the nooks and crannies of the 6:30 comedy slot on BBC Radio 4 (although it is also available on CD if you're interested).

Satan...well what can you say about the devil? Well firstly, he feels that the uprising against God has been greatly misrepresented. It was more of a middle management delegation who went to the Almighty looking for a more executive role.

Satan finds himself in Hell providing full service damnation for all eternity or as God says in the series "I judge, you punish. Why rewrite a hit?" He isn't really needed on Earth to tempt humans anymore. Global sin is now at unprecedented levels even without him, thus causing massive overcrowding and an increased workload for the demons.

That doesn't mean that Satan doesn't get to sow some diabolical mischief from time to time. From adding extra teeth into Cherie Blair's smile while she's sleeping to taking the guise of Bill Clinton's zipper (52 times- he had to give it up because of the friction burns).

From a work perspective, there is punishing the damned- like the most vile and venal creature to ever walk the Earth, a man who Judas Iscariot calls "Gov"- Thomas Quentin Crimp (the chief executive of a privatised water board). Queen Victoria is punished by having her billeted with Harpo Marx and Yves Saint Laurent is punished by making him wear a donkey jacket.

The early series revolve around Satan's ongoing philosophical arguments with the Professor (an essentially good person who just happened to be an atheist), but later series went on to give us Satan's (and Andy Hamilton's) jibes at the world of the media, religion and politics when he went on a campaign of moral rearmament to do something about the massive overcrowding in Hell.

It's a great series and well deserving of your time.