Will Mellor

Review: No Offence returns and we couldn't be happier.

On a beautiful September's evening, I along with an audience of lucky people and cast members attended the premiere screening of the opening episode of No Offence series three and a cast Q&A (more on that this week)

Why I love No Offence

Paul Abbott's police procedural series with guts, heart and a killer sense of humour is back on Channel 4 for round two. Mickey Noonan couldn't be more chuffed.

Hard-as-nails women, smart dialogue and a good dose of dark humour have become this police drama's calling cards. Tonight's installment sees DI Deering (Joanna Scanlan) on a manhunt through Manchester as she gets closer to discovering the identity of the serial killer. Few things are more fearsome than the brassy boss on your criminal tail. Meanwhile Joy (Alexandra Roach) and Spike (Will Mellor) are dealing with a violent attack on a young homeless man, which leads them to uncover a disturbing case of slavery.

Radio Times review

No one can resist the beady stare of implacable DI Viv Deering (Joanna Scanlan); just watch a hapless community police officer crumble in front of her laser beams.

The hunt for the serial murderer of women with Down's syndrome looks like it's drawing to a close in this frantic, febrile drama, until a new and deeply unpleasant line of inquiry comes to light. It's something that makes life even more uncomfortable for Viv and her sidekick Dinah (Elaine Cassidy) because it strikes too close to home.

Meanwhile thwarted Spike (Will Mellor), furious that he missed a huge detail, becomes too involved with a vulnerable, bullied young man and his boss, a thuggish scrapyard owner.

Radio Times review

An outraged suspect demands of Det Insp Viv Deering: "Are you threatening me?" To which comes the reply: "I think so." Viv and the team are called on to protect a man who's been attacked and is under siege from a howling mob.

The victim's back story is both shocking and surprising, and Everyman cop Spike (the admirable Will Mellor) looks askance, annoyed that he has to keep safe the lowest of the low.

But of course there has to be a crack in Spike's flinty exterior, and we soon see him softening and being soppy with his kids in a scene that doesn't at all fit in with No Offence's general air of brutal pragmatism.

Meanwhile, detective sergeant Joy Freers (Alexandra Roach) is gaining confidence and steadily learning to lead. "Well done, you were nearly me in there," says Viv, admiringly, after Joy conducts a particularly sharp interview.

Radio Times review

There's something so delightfully mischievous about No Offence, a hybrid of creator Paul Abbott's Shameless and Tony Garnett's gritty The Cops. It knows it's rude and unruly, but it just doesn't care.

As the hunt for the serial killer of women with Down's syndrome chugs along in the background, DI Viv Deering's tumultuous team of detectives, including Will Mellor as the keen DC Spike Tanner, is investigating the murder of a young Asian woman. She's been killed in an arson attack, and suspicion falls squarely on a group of vociferous, shaven-headed racists.

The subject matter is touchy (and becomes increasingly so as the plot bends), but episode writer Paul Tomalin resolutely doesn't bury us in cliché, turning the story on its head while encouraging us to laugh at the stag-night antics of a particularly gormless fascist buffoon.

We're also given a peek into Viv's (Joanna Scanlan) home life, which provides at least one of the episode's surprises.

Will Mellor's TV CV

Remember Gaz in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps? The Line of Duty and No Offence star has come a long way from small-time sitcoms...

Paul Abbott's new Manchester-set police drama starts with a bang as you would expect. Dina (Elaine Cassidy) is a determined, unafraid powerhouse of policing; Joy (Alexandra Roach) is her nervy colleague; and Joanna Scanlan is Viv, their boss. It's the women who lead this, and brilliant support comes fromPaul Ritter and Will Mellor. We didn't really need another police drama but, if there has to be one, Abbott is the man for the job. It thrusts and bulges with his energy and heart while avoiding procedural cliche. A brilliant start.