The first episode of a new TV comedy series by young Abingdon writer Tim Dawson is set to be broadcast on BBC3 tonight — but it has received negative reviews among television critics.

Coming Of Age is set and filmed in Abingdon and centres on six teenagers.

But John Dugdale and Sarah Dempster, writing in The Sunday Times, were less than complimentary.

They said: "Purporting to offer a look at the lives of sixth-form students, this new sitcom is as dispiriting as it is crude.

"With jokes about genital mishaps and euphemisms for sexual practices, it is a graceless affair that portrays youngsters as vacuous egotists.

"In tonight's opener, one character tries to court a 'minger' while another offers her tutor sexual favours."

Coming Of Age was piloted last year and BBC3 then commissioned a series of six episodes.

The series was filmed in locations in Abingdon, including Tilsley Park, in March this year.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail earlier this year while watching the filming, Mr Dawson, 19, who wrote the script while still a student at Abingdon and Witney College, said: "It's really weird seeing all those people — about 150 of them — all working on it, just because I wrote a script.

"But it's all area-specific in Abingdon, so I hope local people will watch it and enjoy it."

He said the shooting went well with a lot of "stunt work".

He said: "On location, we have run over someone and we have thrown people out of windows.

"We have a proper stunt man who has worked on Last Of The Summer Wine, which is great for me, as I love the programme."

Mr Dawson's mentor is Paul Mayhew-Archer, co-writer of the hugely successful Vicar of Dibley, who also lives in Abingdon.

Mr Mayhew-Archer gave a talk at a local school and Mr Dawson introduced himself.

He said he then "bombarded" Mr Mayhew-Archer with scripts, which were passed on to a producer friend.

The series stars Tony Bignell of Titty Bang Bang, Hannah Job from Saturday Night Fever and Ceri Phillips from Casualty.