Nicola Walker

Preview: Inside No. 9 series 4

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's Inside No. 9 returns to BBC Two for its fourth series on Tuesday 2nd January. Here's a spoiler-free review from Sophie who has seen episodes 1-4 of the new series...

Last Tango In Halifax Christmas special Part 1 review

Hoorah and thank goodness, Last Tango in Halifax is back!

The Circuit review

Sharon 'Catastrophe' Horgan and Dennis Kelly have some dark fun with the quintessential middle-class institution.

A fixture on our best of the year list since it began in 2012, Last Tango in Halifax proved once again to be one of the best dramas on the BBC this year. Sally Wainwright's characters are so well drawn coupled with wonderful performances from Sarah Lancashire, Nicola Walker and Anne Reid. It's a series that never takes the obvious direction and still provides its audience with surprises.

One return I am excited about is that of Last Tango in Halifax which was announced on Twitter just after this Sunday's magnificent series three finale. Sally Wainwright's brilliant ear for dialogue was on full display as Gillian (Nicola Walker) voiced her doubts about marrying boorish childhood sweetheart Robbie (Dean Andrews). The structure of the piece saw Wainwright apply a non-linear narrative as Gillian flashed back to tell Caroline (Sarah Lancashire) about her dalliances with a younger co-worker as well as Caroline's ex-husband John (Tony Gardner). The realistic sequences were punctuated with some high comedy as Caroline struggled to change a tyre whilst wearing her Sunday best whilst Robbie looked on the verge of vomiting after overdoing it on his stag night the prior evening. Wainwright kept the audience guessing whether Gillian would marry Robbie while she also focused on the frosty relationship between Alan (Derek Jacobi) and his love child Gary (Rupert Graves). As the camera swept round the multitude of happy couples at Robbie and Gillian's wedding it reminded me just how much Wainwright had made me care about her characters. I'd wept with Caroline after she'd lost her partner and felt for Gillian as she drudged up the abuse that her late husband inflicted on her. Wainwright has been lucky to find an excellent ensemble cast who deal with her well-paced dialogue beautifully. Special mention has to go to Walker who is utterly believable, playing the likeable Gillian who is prone to making some terrible mistakes. The only criticism I have is the continued presence of Gardner's John who at this point I feel is surplus to requirements and I hope he doesn't return for series four. Apart from that though I would say that this is Last Tango's best series to date and I'm already ridiculously excited about what series four will bring.

Radio Times review

It's Gillian's wedding day as the series ends, and she won't leave the bathroom. It could be a last-minute fluttering of bride-to-be panic or it could be something deeper.

Of course, this is Last Tango, written by Sally Wainwright, so it's something much deeper than whether that charmless oaf Robbie is really the man for Gillian. And don't go expecting one of those soapy, pragmatic bits of plotting where we are left wondering will she?/won't she? just for the sake of it. Gillian (brilliant Nicola Walker) has much she needs to get off her chest and she offloads on a woman who's become a good friend, Caroline (Sarah Lancashire, also brilliant).

I love the conversations between these two - sometimes hesitant, always revealing, as they share the stuff of their souls. Gillian is weary of being dumped on by her family, while Caroline carefully puts her grief to one side to offer wise counsel.

Nicola Walker shines in likeable transitional episode

Whilst this wasn't the best episode of this series, I felt it was good to have a relatively calm instalment following weeks of big events.

Radio Times review

Caroline has to adapt to her dramatic new family circumstances and she's finding it hard, but for once her mum Celia is kind and sympathetic. Of course, Celia refused to attend her daughter's wedding to Kate, but life ebbs and flows, and grievances can't be nursed for long.

Writer Sally Wainwright is so gifted and assured when it comes to calling out to our emotions: no one is more precise at picking apart the mechanics of relationships, particularly relationships between women. She's blessed with a great cast and there are some scenes tonight between Anne Reid and Sarah Lancashire (Celia and Caroline) that will take away pieces of your heart.

But Last Tango isn't just about a mother and daughter; it's about the trials of a big extended family, including Gillian (Nicola Walker), who's about to take a big leap.