Elaine Cassidy

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)

Paul Abbott's bawdy crime drama juggernaut rolls on and tensions are running high down at the Friday Street station. This week, there's division between Dinah (Elaine Cassidy), Joy (Alexandra Roach) and the boss who you wouldn't dare mess with, Deering (Joanna Scanlan). There's suspicion that the Attahs might be colluding with one of the team, and there's another case to crack when a dad reports his daughter missing and the search uncovers sinister online activity.

Why I love No Offence

Paul Abbott's police procedural series with guts, heart and a killer sense of humour is back on Channel 4 for round two. Mickey Noonan couldn't be more chuffed.

No Offence review: crime drama is back with a bang!

While it's still far too early to say if No Offence's second series is going to be a success or not I feel that Paul Abbott and the team are off to a good start.

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.

This week saw the final episode of Paul Abbott's comedy drama No Offence which certainly finished with a bang. As those of us who've been watching the series know, the central plot running throughout the eight episodes has been the team's attempts to catch a serial killer who has been targeting girls with Down's syndrome. The penultimate instalment revealed that the killer was in fact someone that was close to the team and the final revelation shocked me. The finale saw Viv (Joanna Scanlan) and Dinah (Elaine Cassidy) argue over the best way to deal with this revelation. This led to several odd sequences in which the killer tried to get one up on the ladies before Dinah finished him off in a unique fashion. I'm someone who has always championed No Offence's odd mix of comedy and drama however I felt the macabre humour in this final instalment was a little much. I felt it also overshadowed a rather complex subplot in which supporting character PC Jonah Mitchell (Ste Johnson) was being sued for his part in the death of a mother and child. I think that this story was strong enough to feature early on in the series and I believe it got lost in the main plot. In fact I think that that Abbott and his writing team have struggled to incorporate two stories in each episode with either the serial killer story or the plot of the week getting lost in the shuffle. At the same time I still feel that Abbott has a knack for crafting strong, memorable characters at that's certainly true of both Viv and Dinah. I think Abbott has also proved that there's plenty of different ways that the crime drama can go and for the most part No Offence's blackly comic tone has worked a treat. Therefore I'm excited that the show is returning for a second series next year as I think it's a drama that certainly deserves another run.

Where is Patrick getting his information from? Viv (Joanna Scanlan) wants to know, but she won't act until she's sure the leak is coming from inside her own department. There's been a shooting on a bridge: a surgeon taken out by a sniper while jogging. But as the team start hunting the shooter, Viv and Dinah (Elaine Cassidy) sneak around doing their own digging. And the ongoing murder investigation finally throws up a shocking breakthrough that leaves Viv reeling and completely losing her usual composure. Not for long, though. God, Viv's the best.

Radio Times review

No one can resist the beady stare of implacable DI Viv Deering (Joanna Scanlan); just watch a hapless community police officer crumble in front of her laser beams.

The hunt for the serial murderer of women with Down's syndrome looks like it's drawing to a close in this frantic, febrile drama, until a new and deeply unpleasant line of inquiry comes to light. It's something that makes life even more uncomfortable for Viv and her sidekick Dinah (Elaine Cassidy) because it strikes too close to home.

Meanwhile thwarted Spike (Will Mellor), furious that he missed a huge detail, becomes too involved with a vulnerable, bullied young man and his boss, a thuggish scrapyard owner.

Episode two of Paul Abbott's police procedural and, having lost the serial-killer investigation to another team, DI Viv Deering (Joanna Scanlan) and her team instead target an illegal drugs factory. Meantime, attack survivor Cathy is staying at the home of DC Dinah Kowalska (Elaine Cassidy). Early days, of course, but this is shaping up to be something special, thanks to a combo of memorable characters, clever plotting and terrific one-liners. A suspect critiques Viv's approach to interrogation: "Where were you trained, Currys?"