Ladybaby

Ladybaby could be Scotland's next big comedy

An unexpected reunion between a woman and the daughter she gave up for adoption after giving birth at the age of 15 may sound more like a plot from a soap opera than a recipe for a new Scottish comedy series.

Ladybaby (BBC3) is a comedy from Scotland hoping to go from pilot to series. On this evidence it should.

Suzie, played by Amy Manson, has a friend who's just become a mum and can't think of anything less appealing. "If I ever give birth I won't have a baby, I'll have a pickled egg," she declares.

But she had a baby back when she was 15, the unintended consequence of a school field-trip to the Lake District where the condoms were used to water-bomb ramblers. Given up for adoption, Kate (Mirren Mack from The Nest) appears out of nowhere. Well, specifically: out of the dry ice in a nightclub after Suzie - her mum - has just enjoyed a knee-trembler with the resident DJ.

"You ticked the box for 'No contact,'" says Kate. "Well, the law's changed and I did want contact." Suzie tries to make up for lost time. "Er," says Kate, "are you trying to smell my head?"

The pair seem worlds apart, Suzie asking Kate: "Do you have a career? Do you do a weekly shop? Do you carry tissues in your bag?" Suzie has/does none of these things. In reply Kate says "You seem really young," suggesting maturity for her mother post-Lake Windermere is still a work-in-progress. There's great potential in Kirstie Swain's comedy - especially with Phyllis Logan and Ford Kiernan as Suzie's parents - though Ladybaby has already given up the money shot with Suzie getting to sniff Kate's head.

Ladybaby review

Ladybaby does not make light of any trauma that may come from teen pregnancy, adoption, or discovering your mum drunk in a dive bar toilet with the DJ, but Swain is talented in finding humour and tenderness in the grimmest situations.