Alexandra Roach

An irreverent take on the cop drama, Paul Abbott's foul-mouthed and funny series was bolstered by a trio of fine performances from Joanna Scanlan, Elaine Cassidy and Alexandra Roach. While sometimes it was too undisciplined for its own good, No Offence's combination of believable storylines and a rather controversial central plot thread made each episode gripping viewing. Abbott's truly shocking ending left fans of the show wanting more and luckily we'll be getting that when No Offence returns next.

Radio Times review

Mercy! Heavens! You can forget about the flowery dialogue, this concluding episode of the dark period comedy tips over into a cruel farce. There are lashings of blood, bodily fluids, disfigurement, frottage - and a bloody great mallet.

Julia Davis outdoes Kathy Bates in Misery when she wields that. As the plot races frantically in search of a conclusion, Davis's spiteful housekeeper Dorothy manipulates everyone around her to such an extent (stealing babies, crucifying monkeys and telling the lovely Alexandra Roach's Helene her beau reviles her "sour face and bland company") it's hard to continue the suspension of disbelief. Why can't anyone see through this loathsome woman's lies?

The deliciousness of a bubbly milk, however bubbly, cannot match that of the script and performances in this subversion of period dramas, set on a country estate in 1831 and home to housekeeper Dorothy, who Norman Bates would admire.

Hunderby is a wolf in a stiff corset, its teeth exquisite blades of language which shred characters' dignity and rip into Sunday night bonnet dramas, writers Julia Davis and Barunka O'Shaughnessy crafting sentences which glory in lampooning the literature of that time. A delirious and hysterical work of Gothic imagination to rival Wednesday Addams' diary - I had tears running down both sets of cheeks.

The first of this two part special assembles the scheming of Dorothy, the doomed love affair of Dr Foggerty (Rufus Jones) and Helene (Alexandra Roach), the simpering Hester (Rosie Cavaliero, more on her later), and a violent monkey. A monkey, Rufus Jones tells me, that between takes would wear a smoking jacket and a fez. That's normal by this show's standards.

Hard-as-nails women, smart dialogue and a good dose of dark humour have become this police drama's calling cards. Tonight's installment sees DI Deering (Joanna Scanlan) on a manhunt through Manchester as she gets closer to discovering the identity of the serial killer. Few things are more fearsome than the brassy boss on your criminal tail. Meanwhile Joy (Alexandra Roach) and Spike (Will Mellor) are dealing with a violent attack on a young homeless man, which leads them to uncover a disturbing case of slavery.

Radio Times review

An outraged suspect demands of Det Insp Viv Deering: "Are you threatening me?" To which comes the reply: "I think so." Viv and the team are called on to protect a man who's been attacked and is under siege from a howling mob.

The victim's back story is both shocking and surprising, and Everyman cop Spike (the admirable Will Mellor) looks askance, annoyed that he has to keep safe the lowest of the low.

But of course there has to be a crack in Spike's flinty exterior, and we soon see him softening and being soppy with his kids in a scene that doesn't at all fit in with No Offence's general air of brutal pragmatism.

Meanwhile, detective sergeant Joy Freers (Alexandra Roach) is gaining confidence and steadily learning to lead. "Well done, you were nearly me in there," says Viv, admiringly, after Joy conducts a particularly sharp interview.

The women are the best thing on No Offence

Joanna Scanlan, Elaine Cassidy and Alexandra Roach were on top form in the gritty, funny cop show...

Paul Abbott's new Manchester-set police drama starts with a bang as you would expect. Dina (Elaine Cassidy) is a determined, unafraid powerhouse of policing; Joy (Alexandra Roach) is her nervy colleague; and Joanna Scanlan is Viv, their boss. It's the women who lead this, and brilliant support comes fromPaul Ritter and Will Mellor. We didn't really need another police drama but, if there has to be one, Abbott is the man for the job. It thrusts and bulges with his energy and heart while avoiding procedural cliche. A brilliant start.

No Offence: meet the stars

The women are calling the shots in Paul Abbott's new Manchester-set procedural. We get leads Joanna Scanlan, Alexandra Roach and Elaine Cassidy together to talk blood, sweat, tears (and Bez).

Radio Times review

It's a truth universally acknowledged that broadcasters don't put good new stuff on Friday nights at the height of summer. Which doubtless explains why Walter has washed up here where it will probably die quietly, alone and unnoticed.

It's a woefully under-written comedy/drama about a decent cop, the Walter of the title played by Adrian Dunbar, that's neither funny nor dramatic. So why are we reviewing it, you might ask, dear reader? Well, because it's new and the cast give their hearts and souls to material that doesn't deserve it.

Dunbar in particular (so brilliant as Line of Duty's closed, troubled anti-corruption cop Ted Hastings) is winning as the hapless Walter, a widower with money troubles and a really annoying teenage daughter. And he has a dippy but endearing sidekick (Alexandra Roach, from Utopia). Walter is obviously angling for a series, but I wouldn't bother.