Love In Recovery

Final episode of what has been an astonishingly good new comedy series. Why "astonishing"? Because its subject is serious, alcoholism. The situation is in a weekly meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, each episode following the story of why the speaker got there, complete with anger, lies and the pain of finding the truth about oneself. And yet it's funny, because life is funny and so is the road to self revelation. The cast is impressive, the acting superb and if Pete Jackson, who wrote it from his own experience, doesn't get a prize there's no justice.

The sublime Love in Recovery wraps up on Wednesday 11th February, with the sixth and final instalment of Radio 4's touching comic drama. Written by Pete Jackson, the series follows the lives of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting group, made up of characters portrayed by Sue Johnston, John Hannah, Eddie Marsan, Rebecca Front and Paul Kaye, whilst Julia Deakin plays village hall cleaner Marion.

This Radio 4 comedy drama is set in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting room. Each episode focuses on a different character, played by a high-profile cast including Rebecca Front, Sue Johnston, John Hannah, Paul Kaye and Eddie Marsan. Written by Pete Jackson, it is inspired by his own experiences of being in recovery and is based on his attendance at AA meetings, where he says he found support in an unlikely assortment of people. The 15-minute episodes mix drama with black comedy as each character tells their story - from snobbish banker Fiona, who fails to combine her high-pressure job with her compulsive boozing, to journalist Simon, who has delusions of grandeur and a disastrous home life.

Radio Times review

This series never disappoints. The writing and acting is consistently top-notch and it balances dark comedy with human sorrow as expertly as a finely tuned racing car. In this episode we finally get to hear Andy's story.

The self-appointed head of the Alcoholics Anonymous weekly meetings has studiously kept his private life away from the rest of the group, but when he turns up in a suit -- or two suits as sarcastic Scot Simon keeps pointing out (the jacket and trousers don't match) -- their suspicions are aroused.

It is soon revealed that Andy (Eddie Marsan) is going on a date, his first ever date, after the meeting. And it is down to Simon (John Hannah), of all people, to persuade him not to wimp out.

As Carrie Fisher proved years ago, AA can be ripe for black comedy. And so it provides the setting for Love in Recovery (Radio 4), a brilliant six-part comedy drama written by Pete Jackson. Each of the 15-minute vignettes unspool like manic Canterbury Tales, offering a set of soliloquies built around the awkward weekly meetings of disparate characters.

The first episode saw Fiona (Rebecca Front) unload her tale of shallow excess and isolation in the banking world. "I always thought that you can't have a problem when you're drinking with friends but ... everyone's your friend when you're drinking," she pointed out. Episode two finds Julie (Sue Johnston) giving an unwaveringly powerful portrait of a woman, who attempted to find happiness at the bottom of a glass after her husband of 40 years left her ("He went off with the cleaner who ironically turned out to be a dirty bitch"). Eddie Marsan plays the needy group leader Andy (memorably described as "serial-killer nice"), who is constantly offering the participants biscuits ("they're from M&S"). The series feels sharp and fresh, its realism partly derived from writer Jackson's real

Half way through its six-week run, Pete Jackson's thoughtful, recognisable, personally observed comedy arrives at Simon (John Hannah), a member of the Alcoholics Anonymous group around which this series is built. By now they are all getting to know each other but when Simon, a journalist, is asked to tell his story they are taken aback by the reason he hasn't revealed much so far. He was a war correspondent, he says, in Bosnia. Booze helped him get through it. It's a powerful story. But is he being honest with the group? Or himself? Seriously funny.

Radio Times review

"If there's one thing recovering alcoholics aren't short of it's stories," says writer Pete Jackson. And he should know, as this inspired and inspiring sitcom comes from his own experience of being thrown into AA meetings with a truly disparate group of people and then finding that it's more than a problem with drink that binds them together. The fact that Jackson is working with one of the finest comedy casts on radio for years helps as well.

The previous story centred on the aggressive snob Fiona, played by Rebecca Front (be sure to listen on iPlayer if you missed it). This story belongs to Julie (played by Sue Johnston), a woman who did not start drinking, or really living, until she hit 60. Paul Kaye, John Hannah, Eddie Marsan and Julia Deakin are the rest of the players and the series is set to become a classic.

I hope that Radio 4 makes much more use of Jackson over the coming months. He's a comedy writer with talent and a heart.

Bold, bright, original comedy by Pete Jackson with a sparkling cast. Bold? It's set in a weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Bright? It's recognisably real but not self conscious about it. Original? It's honest about its characters. Tonight we meet Fiona, a banker who despises everyone se4lse, has only come because her employer made her, says she makes more money than the rest of them put together. Sparking cast? Fiona is played by Rebecca Front, Sue Johnston plays a housewife, John Hannah a journalist and Eddie Marsan is Andy, who runs the group.

Blessed with an excellent cast including John Hannah, Sue Johnston and Paul Kaye, this absorbing comedy drama focuses on a group of recovering alcoholics at their AA meetings. Writer Pete Jackson, who has been through the process himself and also co-stars as Johnny, picks up on the members' insecurities as they open up to each other, in some cases even finding love. Today, insufferable banker Fiona (Rebecca Front) marvels at her colleagues' decision to send her there.

Pete Jackson's new comedy series comes from his own experience at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. It's funny, wry, recognisable. Each week his characters pool experiences while harbouring reservations. Here, for instance, is Fiona (Rebecca Front), ex-banker, competitive, bit of a snob, a sceptic,. What can she have in common with these losers? Independents Lucky Giant have a stellar cast for this (John Hannah, Sue Johnston) and they shine.