THE knockabout double act seems to have gone out of fashion in comedy these days so it was pleasing to see daft duo Peacock and Gamble bring their latest show Heartthrobs to the Bromsgrove Artrix on Monday, October 14.

The pair have built up a small but loyal fanbase over the past few years through their sporadic podcast in which they bicker like children and generally moan about not being able to get on the television and they continued in that theme with their latest show.

Following last year’s show – the aptly entitled Peacock and Gamble Don’t Even Want to be on Telly Anyway – the duo claim to have finally reached their dream by inexplicably becoming superstars in Japan.

Unfortunately, this seems only to have increased the tension between the two with Peacock – a hairy, stroppy man-child who doesn’t seem to understand how jokes work – under the impression he is solely responsible for their stardom while the much more sensible Gamble gets increasingly exasperated with his partner’s colossal ego.

Of course, as with most things they attempt, there turned out to be a much more farcical reason for their new-found fame.

While far from the most polished show – a technical snafu threatened to derail an already too-long online dating sketch and Gamble clearly spent a good deal of time trying not to burst into fits of giggles at his co-stars antics – this only added to its slapstick charm.

Although the show threatened to end with a genuinely touching moment as Peacock realised his new-found fame could cost him his best friend, this was immediately overturned as the pair jostled like schoolboys to be the last to bow before leaving the stage.

It wasn’t for everyone – as the largely empty theatre would attest – but anyone prepared to surrender themselves to the silliness had a wonderfully daft time.