Sian Reeves

EastEnders favourites Samantha Womack and Nigel Harman swap Albert Square for a cul-de-sac up north in the third series of eccentric dramedy Mount Pleasant - and if you've ever dreamt about Ronnie Mitchell and Dennis Rickman getting it on in an alternate 'Enders timeline, you're in lucky, as the pair are playing a couple!

But it's not long before lovebirds Tanya and Bradley are causing trouble for their neighbours, with a housewarming bash turning into a theatre of tears and tantrums following a series of unfortunate events in Mount Pleasant - including Lisa (Sally Lindsay) unexpectedly losing her job, Charlie (David Bradley) and Pauline (Paula Wilcox)'s wedding plans going up in the air and Bianca (Sian Reeves) being refused a big insurance payout after her late husband's death.

We're heading back up to Manchester this week for the second series of foul-mouthed but fun comedy drama Mount Pleasant, which has found a new home on Sky Living. Northern treasures Sally Lindsay, Daniel Ryan, Bobby Ball and Angela Griffin are all back on board, while the episode also welcomes Casualty's Claire Goose (remember her?) as a troublesome new friend of Lisa's (Lindsay) and Britain's Got Talent imp George Sampson as Bianca's (Sian Reeves) stepson Gary. If you've got nowt to do on Wednesday, stick on a brew, get in some scran and have a buzz to Mount Pleasant (did we get that right, Manchester?).

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.

Mount Pleasant cast interview

Recently we got to sit down and ask Adrian Bower, Sian Reeves, Neil Fitzmaurice, Sally Lindsay and Daniel Ryan from Sky1's upcoming comedy/drama Mount Pleasant...

Mount Pleasant star Sian Reeves on her new comedy

Sian Reeves has revealed she didn't realise just how scantily clad she'd be when she signed up for her latest TV show.

Mount Pleasant: New comedy starring Sally Lindsay

Sally Lindsay, Siân Reeves and Daniel Ryan star in Mount Pleasant, a new eight-part comedy due to start on Sky One on Wednesday 24 August 2011.

Sian Reeves interview

Sian Reeves, who plays Gloria, chats to TV Choice about Series 2 of Lunch Monkeys...

Reeves criticises BBC over 'Hope Springs'

Former Cutting It star Sian Reeves has claimed that the BBC failed to support her recent drama series Hope Springs.

It takes a certain type of programme to tick all the right boxes when it comes to Sunday evening telly. Escapism is essential, as is plenty of pretty scenery and a good selection of likeable characters, but you also need a central storyline with at least a little substance.

And on early evidence this new comedy-drama, starring Alex Kingston, Sian Reeves, Christine Bottomley and Vinette Robinson, shows promise on pretty much every front.

Sadly, the instant you hear the name Admin you know it's going to be a dire Office rip-off.

The slender plotline centres on a promotion when a paralegal position comes up for grabs, inspiring hilarious lines such as, I'd love to be a paraglider. Oscar Wilde got it wrong, sarcasm is not the lowest form of wit - that would be hard-of-hearing idiots with regional accents.

Of the two moments that challenge your smile into a face-off with your frown, the joke about faeces is funnier than the joke about bumming but, on the whole, Admin just gallops forward, for half an hour, like a blind horse.

There is one believable character, a pregnant admin drone, Tania (Jessica Hall), who hides a brain behind her blondeness and swelling bosom.

The rest are caric-atures: the man-eating female boss Gloria (Sian Reeves); a ditzy Scouse who, while filling in her job application, asks, Is smoking an interest?; an 'I'm mad me' dork who goes around the office singing Katrina and the Waves and humping the photocopier; an annoying Asian character, Asif; and a wimpy bloke who pretends he can play the sax but can't (laugh? I nearly did) and who looks like an even more dentally challenged Johnny Borrell.

I blame Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps - that show ran for seven series, without anything other than its fiendish regularity to recommend it.

The message is out there that us plebs will watch anything and, damnit, we probably will. I don't care how hilariously unfunny Admin is, if the Beeb make a full series, we should seriously consider asking for a licence fee rebate.