Dappers

Dappers, written by Catherine Johnson (who wrote the bits between the songs in Mamma Mia!), is set in Bristol with lots of lovely rolling accents.

Leonora Crichlow and Ty Glaser play young mums on benefit, who cart their toddlers everywhere as they try to make cash and keep their spirits up.

The plot wasn't great, with a dog-walking scheme resulting in the inevitable mix up of two identical pugs, but the characters and their world already felt rounded, from the endearing girls, to their ineffective baby-fathers, the smug yuppies next door who have everything they don't and Eddie Large as a peculiar neighbour. I could happily watch more, with a bit of development of the stories and a few funnier lines.

Dappers is the new Liver Birds

Dappers, a bouncy new addition to TV comedy, left you hoping the pilot will blossom into a proper grown-up series.

This comedy drama pilot has a lot going for it. Being Human's Lenora Crichlow in one of the main roles for one thing. And it's written by Catherine Johnson, who's best known for making the film Mamma Mia! such a massive hit. Single mums Ashley and Faye are the eponymous dappers (see above for this and other Bristolian sayings) who live - with their respective toddlers - in adjacent housing association flats and are always coming up with money-making scams. Or, as the fl ashy ex-boyfriend of Faye (Ty Glaser), puts it they're "like Del Boy and Rodders in thongs". It's nowhere near as filthy as Shameless, but there will inevitably be comparisons with Little Britain's Vicky Pollard. The comic clichés (such as the "odd couple neighbours" played by Gwen Taylor and Eddie Large) wouldn't be given house room in Little Britain, though. Its success will depend very much on whether you take to ballsy Faye and Ashley. Earlier, there's more bold new drama in Stanley Park.

Scripted by Catherine Johnson of Mamma Mia! fame, Dappers is a comedy pilot that follows the misadventures of two young mums (Ty Glaser and Lenora Crichlow) on the dole in Bristol. The plot revolves around the duo, AKA "Del and Rodders in thongs", setting up a dog-walking service after losing their cash-in-hand cleaning job. It has energy and vim and the set-up, with the duo living in housing association flats next to well-heeled neighbours in posh Clifton, is promising, but there aren't enough decent one-liners to carry the day.

Dappers is about two young mums on benefits in Bristol. In a well-meaning but cringeworthy and explicitly telegraphed BBC edict that it would be futile to parody, it aims to Show So-Called Broken Britain In A Good Light etc. We are invited to see the girls not as foul-mouthed ASBOs but as "Del Boy and Rodders in thongs" as they attempt to make ends meet, stay out of the clutches of the benefit fraud police and deal with the hilarious problems involved with living next to a Posh Couple.

Lenora Crichlow, very much the shiniest bulb on the BBC3 Christmas tree (see recent documentary about Nelson Mandela et al), stars. One of the girls' schemes is a dog-walking enterprise. Who knew that dog poo could be so funny?

Catherine Johnson is most famous for writing the hit musical and movie Mamma Mia! In this pilot, she delivers a cheery take on broken Britain with her tale of two best mates - "dappers" in Bristol-speak, apparently - Faye and Ashley, and their two toddler daughters.

They're not strictly single mums. Ashley's boyfriend Ryan is still on the scene, although he's more of a liability than a help.

Lenora Crichlow (Annie the ghost from Being Human) stars opposite Ty Glaser (who briefly played posh blonde Libby Charles in Emmerdale).

The laboured accents get in the way of the performances and the girls' attempts to earn cash come straight out of the Big Sitcom Book Of Cliches but there's a nice energy about these friends on benefits (not to be confused with Friends With Benefits).

"They're Del Boy and Rodders in thongs," is how Ryan describes them - and you might think that's recommendation enough. The kids are sweet, too.

Dappers is about a pair of single mothers in Bristol. The cast includes Lenora Crichlow and Tom Ellis, but be warned the latter sports a chinny-beard monstrosity that you may find negatively affects his attractiveness levels. It's a strong cast that inexplicably includes Eddie Large skulking around in the background, but a certain amount of Wacky!Editing! doesn't quite cover the fact that there's not really much there. I would say that despite its Skins knock-off elements, the first show was the one that should get commissioned; but since the Radio Times dedicates several articles to Dappers and about half a line to Stanley Park, and they're likely to have better insider knowledge than me, the Bristol single mums could well be given the nod.

Dappers Review: Baby Mama Drama

It's a little predictable and the comedy isn't really the driving force behind the show but there are still some enjoyable giggles. The well-to-do neighbours are the butt of a few good gags, starting with Ashley and Faye dubbing them 'Face Ache and Arse Munch' but it's a little too light on laughs overall.

Dappers - Pilot Episode Review

A light hearted enjoyable mini farce with a little social message. It may garner a limited audience, mainly a young audience and Bristolians (even empathetic single mums) who flock to any program featuring their city, but its likeable characters and funny script may attract those seeking a lighter touch to what is normally a serious subject.

Mamma Mia writer brings Bristolicious lushness to BBC3

In Dappers, the action isn't set in sun soaked Greece but in the rainy reality of the West Country city of Bristol.