Claire Rushbrook

Inside No. 9's best guest performances

Shearsmith and Pemberton can't do it all on their own. Here are Inside No. 9's most memorable turns by guest actors.

Inside No. 9 - Love Is A Stranger review

Rushbrook's performance was outstanding. A thirty-minute comedy doesn't give the greatest scope for a dramatic performance but it can be done.

Inside No. 9 - Love Is A Stranger review

"Love Is A Stranger" is another excellent episode in what is one of the strongest series of Inside No. 9 yet.

Inside No. 9 - Love Is A Stranger review

Claire Rushbrook shines in an Inside No. 9 episode about looking for love in all the wrong places.

Inside No. 9 review

Love Is A Stranger was an expertly conceived, written and acted piece of television about the horrors of online dating. Claire Rushbrook's performance was beautifully restrained, oozing shy vulnerability as a series of hideous men popped up on her laptop screen, played by Mathew Horne, Shearsmith and Pemberton, plus Frances Barber as a ghastly woman selling diets to lonely women. Then, finally, a man who seemed nice, played by Asim Chaudhry. It kept you guessing as to who was the "lonely hearts killer" until the final seconds, then pulled the rug again. Small but perfectly formed television.

Review: No Offence returns and we couldn't be happier.

On a beautiful September's evening, I along with an audience of lucky people and cast members attended the premiere screening of the opening episode of No Offence series three and a cast Q&A (more on that this week)

With the first two series of My Mad Fat Diary being set in 1996, this third and final run jumps two years to 1998. This series focuses on the final summer of the drama's central friendship group before they go their separate ways. For Rae (Sharon Rooney) this might mean a place at university however a disastrous interview at Bristol would suggest otherwise. After believing she's flunked her interview, Rae is all ready to stay in Stamford with the rest of the gang and in particular her boyfriend Finn (Nico Mirallegro). Indeed, now he's bought a new flat, Rae is considering moving in with him, however she's thrown for six when she discovers that Bristol University has offered her a place. Feeling that her place is by Finn's side, she lies to her friends about her university place however her secret doesn't stay buried for very long. Indeed, when her college tutor discovers that she's been accepted, soon everybody is praising her apart from her closest allies. Most hurt by her deceit is best friend Chloe (Jodie Comer) who feels that Rae's lies are connected to the fact that she doesn't believe that Chloe is good enough to get into business school. Additionally Finn decides to cool things off with her, which leads her to return to the dark place that made her end up in hospital at the beginning of series one. These problems build up to a shocking final sequence in which Rae and her friends end up in a car accident with Chloe being the one who has suffered the most. I feel it's a testament to both the writers and the actors that I felt for the characters as much as I did. In fact I reacted the same way as Chloe when Rae started to show signs that she was self-harming again. Meanwhile the final scene made my jaw drop to the floor in disbelief and with only two episodes to go I'm not sure how the gang will recover from this latest tragedy.

I'm still surprised that My Mad Fat Diary had as much of an effect of me as it did because, as a man in my early thirties, I don't think I'm the drama's target audience. However I believe there's something universal about My Mad Fat Diary which speaks to most of us who have ever been in the same situation as Rae and company. This is particularly true of the opening interview segment as I feel most of us have experienced a similar amount of pressure at some point in our lives. I think another reason why I've enjoyed My Mad Fat Diary so much is because of it being said during the 1990s. Although I was a little younger than the characters during the period the drama is set, it was still part of my adolescence and therefore I have a certain fondness for it. It's due to this fondness that I took issue with several cultural references during the opening episode namely Rae name dropping Destiny's Child and the fact that the Divine Comedy's National Express was played even though it wasn't released till the following year. Additionally I felt that the dark undertones of the episode made feel that the series had lost the balance of light and shade that made me love it so much in the first place. Thankfully there were a few bright spots namely the scenes with Rae's mum (Claire Rushbrook) and a subplot in which gay best friend Archie (Dan Cohen) tried to lose his virginity before starting university. However these are minor niggles in a show that has so many great things to say about growing up, starting adult life and those special friends who'd stay around forever. I've also enjoyed the relationship between Rae and her therapist Kester (Ian Hart) which looks to be coming to end partly as he seems to being ejected from his practise. Overall I'll be sad to see My Mad Fat Diary go but I'm glad that it's ending before it becomes too stale. I've just got my fingers crossed that everything turns out alright with Chloe and that Rae and the gang get the happy ending that they deserve.