Morven Christie

Twenty Twelve's Morven Christie to avoid real Olympics

Morven Christie might have been playing it for laughs in Twenty Twelve, the BBC's spoof documentary about the shambolic Olympics organising committee, but she has no interest in the real Games.

As the flat-footed comedy about PAs nears the end of its first series, Roger (Peter Wright) is surprised by a woman from his past just as his wife comes to visit. Sally (Morven Christie) tries to avoid Steven (Tom Ellis) on their first aid course and Christine (Fay Ripley) turns to medication to try to control her drinking.

Despite every fibre of its being screaming "I am but a competent ITV comedy-drama", Monday Monday is pretty likable. In this second episode Fay Ripley's Christine is in AA and trying to take back control of her working life. That's all well and good, except that she has to deal with a sexual harassment claim against resident office hunk Steven, who also happens to be sleeping with scary chief operating officer Alyson. Awkward. It's so light as to be weightless, but with a great cast (featuring Jenny Agutter, Holly Aird and the charming Morven Christie) it's definitely watchable.

If BBC Three's Personal Affairs hasn't put you off office-based comedies forever, try this slightly more pleasing effort from ITV. Set in the Leeds HQ of a failing supermarket group, it sees Fay Ripley lead the charge as the firm's incompetent alcoholic Human Resources manager, Christine, with Morven Christie as Sally - her put-upon PA whose love life is even worse than her work situation. While well-known faces such as Jenny Agutter and Miranda Hart are left largely on the sidelines in this first episode, it's a rare complaint for a sitcom to have too many classy actors, even if the script is fairly mediocre.

Fay Ripley plays a drunken, shambolic mess of a human being in this likeable if lightweight comedy-drama series.

She's Christine Frances, head of human resources at the HQ of a struggling supermarket chain, holding things together only thanks to her trusty yet savagely abused PA, Sally (played by Morven Christie) - and looking as if she's finally facing the chop when a ruthlessly ambitious management troubleshooter (Holly Aird) comes to shake the firm up.

Sally herself, meanwhile, has fallen for hunky Steven (Tom Ellis), the arrogant guy who's personal assistant to this new bigwig - only to find he and bossy-drawers have more than just a working relationship.

A strong cast also includes Jenny Agutter, Neil Stuke, Peter Wight and Saikat Ahamed.