Boy Meets Girl

Boy Meets Girl was hailed, in its first series, as groundbreaking - as indeed it was, being the first mainstream UK programme, let alone comedy, to feature transgender people with any degree of prominence. The standout Rebecca Root still intrigues, her relationship with Leo endangered now not by prejudice but by his imminent job in London (in Geordieland this is somehow still perceived as gilded cobbles rather than the ceaseless throb of a larger, twisted normality). There's a resolution, of sorts, thanks to difficulties involving the mother (the increasingly splendid Janine Duvitski, now much older than Abigail's Party, still as magnetising). The problem is that it's not very, if at all, funny. A sitcom without the com is simply a sit. And the sit, in these lovely enlightened days, is not that interesting.

Boy Meets Girl review

Yes, it's groundbreaking, but it's also a jarringly traditional sitcom.

When this romcom about a man falling for a transgender woman first arrived, it was all a bit controversial.

What a thoroughly modern love story, and hip hip hooray to the BBC we thought as we applauded trans actress Rebecca Root for her lead role.

Now, of course, as Judy (Root) and Leo (Harry Hepple) return for a second series, the controversy has gone but we can still enjoy this wonderfully sweet comedy drama.

The plot hardly rattles along, in fact it pootles, with perhaps the odd skip. But that's fine. Not everything we watch should require an emergency manicure the next day.

As we rejoin Judy and Leo, they are in love, totally committed and making plans for a future together. But, plot twist alert, Leo has been offered a new job.

Good salary, pension, five weeks holiday. Perfect?

No, it's in London, a fair few miles from their Newcastle home. Well, we needed some kind of spanner in the works to keep us interested.

"It will be ok, we'll see each other every weekend," says Leo. Oh right, because that always goes without a hitch in sitcoms.

Meanwhile, Harry's mum Pam (Denise Welch) decides to join Judy's mum Peggy (Janine Duvitski) at a transgender support group, but is horrified when someone asks how long she's been living as a woman.

"It's the butch haircut and the way you walk," explains Peggy, helpful as ever.

And elsewhere, Anji is alarmed to discover the salon has rats. But there's a silver lining for Jackie, who takes a shine to the pest controller.

A welcome return for the cockle-warming comedy, with Judy and Leo attempting to get on with being in love while their families can't help sticking their oars in. As is customary in sitcoms set in the north, Leo gets offered a job in London, which is a cue for much pained decision-making. Meanwhile, Pam plays the stereotypical enthusiastic mother with gusto as she heads to a trans support group. Lovely stuff; Rebecca Root's laidback delivery makes Judy shine.

Boy Meets Girl season 2 episode 1 review

All things being done, this is a triumphant return for Boy Meets Girl. The charm and heart-warming nature of the first year is still present. The first season had education and acceptance very much at its core and thankfully, this second run looks set to carry on that theme.

Boy Meets Girl: A welcome return?

It's almost as if they didn't have any ideas and instead have given us a lot of well-worn cliches instead. The long distance job offer, the creation of a new business and a secret relationship are all well-worn comic tropes and Boy Meets Girl doesn't seem to what to do anything particularly new with any of them.

Boy Meets Girl review

As the United Kingdom is convulsed by a post-referendum outbreak of intolerance, goodness knows the nation needs all the harmony-enhancing, bridge-building entertainment it can lay its eyeballs on. Anything that promotes civilised values and challenges fear of otherness is to be welcomed and supported. It was in this spirit that, last year, Boy Meets Girl became the first mainstream comedy with a transgender lead character. Its return for a second series couldn't come at a more propitious moment. It's not much fun, then, to report that its good intentions are the best thing about Boy Meets Girl.