Graeme Hawley

Finding Alice ends with an insulting finale

ITV's domestic comedy-drama series started out whimsical and ended up completely deranged, despite one stand-out performance.

Graeme Hawley interview

Graeme Hawley couldn't wait to play an ordinary dad in his latest role - because he has spent so much time killing people on screen.

The peerless Alison Steadman walks the line between laughter and tears with aplomb, taking the lead as Pauline Paradise in this six-part comedy drama. Nearing the end of her road as a lollipop lady, Pauline is apprehensive about her looming retirement. But does anyone in her family care that her life is at a crossroads? Not a jot, it seems, with taciturn hubby Ken (Duncan Preston) being, well, taciturn, and her brood of offspring preoccupied with their own lives and rearing assorted infants. It's a Syndicate-style format, with the perspective shifting from one Paradise to another, week by week. The impressive supporting cast includes Celia Imrie, Larry Lamb, Ashley Jensen, Graeme Hawley and Zoe Telford.

Gavin & Stacey star Alison Steadman washes herself of eager-to-please Essex mum Pam to play a matriarch who's finally had enough of her family in Love and Marriage, ITV's latest star-packed drama.

When her husband fails to show support throughout her retirement and the death of her father, frustrated doormat Pauline Paradise (Steadman) breaks it to her adult kids - who include Ashley Jensen and Coronation Street star Graeme Hawley - that she's packing her bags and starting a new life. Also featuring Celia Imrie and Larry Lamb, Love and Marriage is at once funny and poignant, disheartening and upflifting. We'd say it's definitely worth a peek, even before the mini-Gavin & Stacey reunion.

If Graeme Hawley proves to be anywhere near as deranged as his Corrie alter ego John Stape, we could be in for a sparky launch of this new series of Vic 'n' Bob's frenetic panel show. Chef James Martin, actress Brigitte Nielsen and comedian Ross Noble join Graeme in the guest hot spots, fielding the fallout alongside team captains Jack Dee and Ulrika-ka-ka.