Sally Lindsay

A suburban tale evidently shooting for a Desperate Housewives-style comedy-drama angle, Mount Pleasant seems to have decided that comedy is what you create when you combine the cliche with the offensive. Even Sky's habit of throwing money at the problem can't make things right, as a fine cast of well-liked British actors (Angela Griffin, Sally Lindsay, Bobby Ball - the only good element here) try to lift the diabolical material. And the whole thing is made still worse by jarring shifts in tone.

The sight of Bianca (Sian Reeves playing yet another over-the-top maneater like in Cutting It and Emmerdale) ­highlights the obvious ingredients chucked into this new sitcom.

And that's before we meet Sue (Pauline Collins) who arrives with a cry of "Only me!" and Barry (Bobby Ball).

On the other hand, it's a cut above Candy Cabs, filmed nearby, although that's not saying much.

For Mount Pleasant, read upmarket Hale in Cheshire, home to Lisa and husband Dan - played by Sally Lindsay and Daniel Ryan.

In the first instalment, Lisa fears Dan has forgotten their 10th anniversary and fumes when gorgeous boss/friend (Angela Griffin) moves in and goes about dressed like she's doing a cover shoot for Nuts

The cast also includes Liza Tarbuck and Ainsley Howard and you get a vision of the casting director throwing a big net into a pool marked: The Usual Suspects.

Fairly happily married Lisa (Sally Lindsay) lives in suburban Manchester close to her nearest and dearest. She can barely pucker her lips for a kiss from hubby Dan (Daniel Ryan), let alone roll up her sleeves for a scrap with him, without her dotty parents, airhead best mate or brassy boss interrupting.

It's like an upmarket Shameless - on which writer Sarah Hooper cut her teeth - but the characters are even broader. Still, this first episode rattles along pleasantly enough, as a paranoid Lisa frets that Dan has forgotten their tenth anniversary. It's when her boss temporarily moves in, having chucked a feckless boyfriend, that the fun and games really begin.

Mount Pleasant cast interview

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Following on from a successful pilot last year, Justin Moorhouse returns in this sitcom playing an alternative version of himself, as a Manchester radio DJ recovering from a messy divorce.

This was a rather enjoyable half-hour, which began and closed with Justin talking to his mother (Anne Reid), who was horrified about Justin bringing him ginger nuts rather than Duchy Originals, and who has an attraction towards men with moustaches, including Bob Carolgees and Adolf Hitler.

The main plot of the first episode was Justin having to attend a gathering of parents at a restaurant with his ex-wife Tanya (Sally Lindsay) to try and get their son into a Catholic school, while at the same time going on a date with new love interest Lisa (Katherine Kelly) in the same restaurant.

The main lynchpin of comedy in this episode was the headmaster of the Catholic school, an Irish priest who was very traditional in his views. For example, he's against divorce, so Justin and Tanya have to pretend to be married. Now, the other week I came across an article on The Guardian's website from a man complaining that comedians are lazy when making jokes about religion. In terms of this show - while it is a bit lazy for making the Catholic priest Irish - there was no mention of paedophilia at all, and only one mention of homophobia.

Also, speaking as someone who went to Catholic school, I know that most Catholic priests are decent, well meaning people. R.E. teachers, on the other hand, are despicable monsters who still give me nightmares, and speaking from my own experiences are not exactly fair and balanced when covering certain topics. (The day when the pro-life campaigners came to our class and presented a slide show featuring graphic pictures of aborted foetuses springs to mind). This has nothing really to do with reviewing this show; it's just something I've always wanted to get off my chest.

Anyway, getting back to the main point, I think that Everyone Quite Likes Justin is worthwhile and entertaining sitcom which fully deserves the series that it has been given. Let's see what Moorhouse has to offer us as the series progresses.

Former Corrie stars all smiles on Mount Pleasant set

Former Coronation Street stars Angela Griffin and Sally Lindsay look like they're having a right giggle filming their new project in Hale.