Where avuncular Yank Bill Bryson took a look at us Brits and made us feel good about ourselves through his observations, stand-ups American Erich McElroy and Australian Pete Jonas achieve the opposite.

Their tales of queuing in empty shops in rainy towns full of raping, stealing illegal immigrants sounds more like the former Soviet Union. Our good points include being alcoholics and slappers - not exactly a quote from the Rough Guide.

There is an option that foreigners who don’t like living in Britain can take - sod off back to your own country - but somehow McElroy and Jonas steer through choppy waters and avoid forcing us into making this unwelcome comment.

Perhaps they appeal to that British disease of cynicism. We like a moan. We like to think we have it tough in Britain because it appeases our fat Western conscience.

Perhaps, also, because the show, while very often dragging up the usual observations about the British, has inventive moments. Turning the nationality test into a gameshow is a brilliant idea and there are some great gags.