User Reviews

Toby Jones plays a set of twins - Peter, coach driver in Bognor Regis, England, father to Kyla, stroppy young adult still-at-home daughter. Peter's one of nature's heroic cowards, fighting against his natural timidness to savee an illegal Eritean immigrant 19 yr old woman from human traffickers - rather hapless traffickers as it happens... And Barry, Peter's twin, - who is rather predictably the complete opposite of Peter. Brash, matey, know-it-all ex- pat living in Australia - who we get to see through Skype sessions.

All the supporting class keep pace with the masterful Toby Jones, but highlights include Marcia Warren, who plays Peter and Barry's mother, Joy, who's at the start of dementia, and who, in Peter's eyes, refuses to accept that Barry (her obvious favourite) has abandoned her and gone off to Oz. Joy rather cruelly always 'mistakenly' calls Peter, Barry;

And Fran (Claire Rushbrook) , not unattractive but generously proportioned middle-aged woman, mother to Kieran, her son with Cerebral Palsy, whom she adores... She has an unfailing optimistic view of everything. Somehow, Peter has unwittingly and inexplicably attracted her amorous attentions....

Very gentle, bitter-sweet comedy throughout. Some have called it dark, even black comedy because of the subject matter involved, but not me. My tolerances might be higher than the average, though. Worth a binge watch. as it's only 6 x 30mins episodes.

Written and starring Toby Jones and very much in the mould of the successful "Detecterists" in which Jones co starred. Don't forget the driver is a charming sometimes moving piece on the daly life of a day trip coach driver. The humour mostly comes in the shape of the diverse coach trips, the driver engages whilst trying to cope with a hectic home life of being a single parent to a teenage girl, a mother with dementia a will he or won't he relationship with a women who has a severely disabled son. If you enjoyed Detectorists or Ricky Gervais After Life then this will be for you. 8/10

I really enjoyed seeing Toby Jones play this character, wimpy, but good natured, underdog type. Similar to the character he plays in the Detectorists.While at work, Peter witnesses something he recognises as wrong but is reluctant to become involved with. The story utilises this situation to highlight the larger issue of illegal immigration and human trafficking. It is done well, with working class Britain as the backdrop.

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A well crafted story set in the bleak tacky absurdity of a south coast English town, with characters that are crippled either physically or emotionally or economically, losing with life, in a claustrophic darkly comical setup.

The silences speak volumes, the camera lingers on decay and mundane things. The ever present 80s/90s music radio adds to the faded feel of everything and everyone. Meanwhile dementia, disability, homelessness, illegal immigrants, human trafficking and economic malaise form the storyline.

I liked it a lot. Toby Jones and the many actors are suberb, totally credible, and give satisfying performances.

This series is not for those who want instant gratification, it is not for those with short attention spans. But for those who persist it's rewarding. I hope they will make another series.

A gentle, oh so British comedy. Easy watch and won't stretch the imagination or challenge your tired brain cells. It's very much in the mold of The Detectorists and not just because Toby Jones co-wrote and stars in it.

Not as cutting edge as This Country but I quite enjoyed it.

Toby is wonderful. The sinister side of a modern humanitarian crisis laid bare alongside its' encroachment upon the everyday mundane existence of an imperfect gent and his family, in the seaside town of Bognor. Some of the worse bits of humankind exposed, but utterly eclipsed by many of the best bits. Captured with quality cinematography, thoughtful editing and a lighthearted but not flippant frivolity. Thoroughly recommended viewing.

Didnt laugh once. It is depressing and bleak. The characters feel like a guardian columnist created them in their lunch break, to tick a "working class brexit box". It feels condescending. Like they just observed people from a distance, like they were in a zoo.

I initially posted my review against the last episode of the season, which the idea of season two seemed a possibility. Coming on for four years later, that's not looking likely, so I'll relocate the review to here.

Peter (Toby Jones) is a downtrodden coach driver who's earning a living as a coach driver on the South Coast of England and supporting his daughter Kayla (Erin Kellyman) as she decides what to do with her life. His world opens up when he inadvertently transports Rita (Luwam Teklzgi) through the channel tunnel and then hides her from the people traffickers back in Bognor Regis.

I'm not sure how to feel about "Don't Forget the Driver". I think I appreciated it rather than enjoyed it. Despite the Sitcom trappings, it really isn't that funny, it's more like a quirky drama with a few points to make about 21st century Britain. Some of them are more subtle than others, Peter's twin brother Barry, for example, being against immigration despite having emigrated to Australia himself. Brexit isn't the only touching point for the series though, the death of small towns, particularly coastal communities is evident, as is elderly parents and the effects that mental and physical disabilities can have on their support network.

Though the cast are great and the points are important, and I believe in them, I can't help but wish that, like the similarly themed "The Dectectorists", the show managed to pack these in whilst making me laugh more often.

This has to be one of the most finely crafted TV series I have ever seen. Funny but also very poignant. Toby Jones is excellent, as is the entire cast. Every character is well developed and interesting. A special mention has to go to the cinematography, which is routinely excellent. I think the previous reviewer would be wise to go back and give this another chance...

Dark comedy yes, but more a contemporary piece on the state of the nation. Casts a great sense of shame on the way society often treats those marginalised and cast out by society, including immigrants, those with disability, single parent families, trans and non-binary and dementia. It has moments of sympathetic laughter and many moments of tears, some of sadness and despair but also of joy. Cinematography, lighting and editing all thoughtful and beautiful. Very powerful and highly recommended.

It's going for a Detectorists vibe - quiet, pastoral, quintessentially English, the quirks and foibles of the island race. Unfortunately, lacking the brilliant and hilarious script of that work of genius, it just comes across as dreary and vacant, like an out of season seaside resort. I started to note the number of scenes where we see an empty screen, then something or someone - a disability scooter, a funeral, a character - travels, painstakingly slowly, across the screen from left to right. This is a director imagining painterly scenes in his head, setting the mood of quiet introspection. Or maybe it's just boring, tedious and repetitive. The daughter - she's mixed race! She has a cross-dressing friend! She's feisty! Is a two dimensional "yoof" character. Jones' Australian accent is dreadful, and the people the eponymous driver carries on his coach are casting-central stereotypes (Japanese tourists! Do they have cameras? Guess...) So five stars? Well, the immigration issue is interesting and refreshing, Jones (English version) is always good value, and you ARE drawn back to see what happens. If they had left out the lashings of English quirkiness and the pretentious presentation, it could have been so much better.

Have just watched all six episodes of this .so good I want to share how much I enjoyed...some dark eery moments along with laugh out loud chaos...throw in some emotional moments ...with the background of what's going on with immigration in today's world made for a funny touching and thought provoking three hours of fun

Having seen the trailers I have wanted to see this perhaps more then any other new comedy for years. I was not disappointed, I have absolutely loved it. It's so witty, well written and gorgeously put together.

The stories are great,the situations baffling, and the characters are a joy. I adore Toby Jones, and he is terrific as the down on his luck driver. Marcia Warren is an absolute comic delight as his mother, Dino Kelly also great as Lech.

It's wonderful observation comedy. Loved it. 9/10

Yes, I noticed it gave me similar feelings to watching Detectorists. I've really come to like it and sincerely hope there'll be more! Nice actors and acting, fun to look at, story lines hold my interest. Good stuff. :) 8.5

Every element of Don't Forget the Driver is perfect.

Whether choosing the cowardly protagonist, the generic fat, loud mouth, or self-involved teen; there is absolutely no one to root for in this slog fest.

This was a fantastic piece of television. I was moved, even to tears in the third episode. Toby Jones is a genius, fans of the detectorists will love this

In the current toxic political climate that we live in, this was just bait for Brexiter's. And it's magnificent. It shows how we can still like, love laugh and tolerate one another, whilst showing that the enemy isn't always "the other". The negative reviews on here will claim the opposite. I claim that if you have a heart, appreciate comedy, great acting and the World we live in, it's for you.

Halfway in, but these episodes have perfectly encapsulated the menace of our current era along with more mundane observations. Couldn't stop watching.

Such a fantastic programme. It's a slow build but really gets into its stride by the fifth Episode. It wasn't particularly funny at the outset and it felt slightly under powered at times. But by episode 5 I was moved one minute laughing the next.

Performances are slightly undercooked to me but as the drama pushed forward the acting improved. All the cast are talented but the standouts for me were Claire Rushbrook, Marcia Warren and Danny Kirrane as the incredibly annoying but completely believable Squeaky Dave.

Hope this gets a second series because it was weirdly melancholic and moved me to tears

Don't Forget The Driver

This was a very carefully crafted drama that purported to be a comedy, but I couldn't see much to laugh at. This show was just littered with an array of liberal and societal "fashion" trends that just should not be examined by way of the kitchen sink.

Toby Jones is great as perhaps one of the leading character actors of our age, but this show was about so much more. Even he struggled to know what emotion he should be conveying minute by minute, tragedy, pathos, confusion or despair. It really was a hotchpotch of different strands of thought that were never going to come together or be resolved in any redemptive conclusion.

It was inferred that we were examining the human condition through the eyes of "everyday" folk struggling to make sense of why life crushes you relentlessly through small acts of catastrophe. But this examination was of such a shallow nature no sense of it could be made.

You may ask what did they conclude in this nihilistic philosophical ramble of a comedy show, and it appears the answer was two fold;

1, it is impossible to identify when the moment was when your life was going in an upward trajectory and now it had turned in the direction of crash and burn.

2, it is better to live in a bubble than the grinding reality that is modern day Britain and the quicker you can get out the better.

The introduction of illegal migrants/asylum seekers/economic migrants/trafficked migrants was a strange subplot, except as a foil to Toby Jones who thought his life had hit rock bottom, when in comparison it was a different kind of rock bottom. This subject within this format just didn't work as the focus of the show drifted away from the central issues.

Overall it missed whatever it was trying to say, having watched 6 episodes I have no clue what the writer and director were trying to convey.

No more of this liberal non-funny tripe please.

The shots, the music, the CAST, the script. It's perfect. This show is timely and heartfelt. No it's not quick and it's not a laugh riot but it doesn't profess to be. And thank god for that. It takes it's time so we can savor the moment. It is about tough choices. It is about small victories and expectations. Loved every second of it.

This is one of the best dramedy series I've ever seen, very funny ,very moving and very clever, nobody needs me to tell you that Toby Jones is probably the greatest living actor but I was absolutely knocked out by the performance of Luwam Teklizgi playing Rita ,her performance was so moving ,so sweet ,I fell in love with her and was completely addicted to her storyline, I really hope a second series is made as I want more of her story ,all the cast were great ,I wasn't keen on the squeaky character (Dave?) But he was the only one whose performance I could criticize,just think he overplayed when all the other actors were understated and very natural, another attraction for me to watch other than Toby was that it was filmed in my local seaside town Bognor Regis, it was filmed so well and the direction superb ,come on Toby get writing another series if you're not already .. Brilliant