Last Tango In Halifax

Last Tango in Halifax began it's third series late last year and reunited us with Alan (Derek Jacobi) and Celia (Anne Reid) as well as their respective broods. I've been a fan of Last Tango since it first began and particularly liked the darker second series which explored the past of Gillian (Nicola Walker) in a lot more detail. With Last Tango's writer Sally Wainwright busying herself with Happy Valley in 2014, I felt that she may not have enough time to wholly devote herself to a third series of this excellent family drama. These fears were compounded by the major story running throughout the first episode in which it was revealed that Alan had a secret son, Gary (Rupert Graves), who was the result of a brief affair Alan had conducted. The introduction of Gary to me felt like a way of just putting another obstacle in the way of the drama's central couple's happiness. However, after a lacklustre opener, Last Tango really kicked in in episode two as the emotional fallout from Gary's arrival started to take its toll on Celia. Celia's realisation that Alan wasn't completely perfect left her reeling and as a result she decided not to attend the wedding of her daughter Caroline (Sarah Lancashire) and her partner Kate (Nina Sosanya). This second episode completely restored my faith in Wainwright's storytelling abilities and it's clear that she knows her characters inside out, a fact witnessed by the icy way Caroline ejected Alan from her wedding.

Indeed, as somebody who has watched the series since it first started, I feel like I know these characters and therefore their reactions feel utterly genuine. That's possibly why I initially rejected the introduction of Gary into the series, however episode two gave Rupert Graves the opportunity to flesh out the character a little more. But Last Tango in Halifax wouldn't be nearly as good as it is if it were not for the drama's four central performers. Last series I found that both Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid had taken somewhat of a backseat to their younger counterparts, however the opening episodes of series three have really put them back in the spotlight. Reid has been particularly good in bringing out the pricklier aspects of Celia's character and in particular her truly feelings about Caroline's sexuality. One of Reid's strengths is her ability to convey her emotions through a couple of facial expressions that allow the audience to know exactly what she's thinking. Though she's not been as prominent a presence as she was in series two, Nicola Walker has still been magnificent and showed a skill for comic timing during a particularly memorable scene in episode two. But so far this series has belonged to the excellent Sarah Lancashire who, as Caroline, has presented her frustration with Celia in a believable manner. Lancashire portrays Caroline as a formidable yet vulnerable woman whose cool exterior has started to melt thanks to her relationship with Kate. Ultimately, after a shaky start, it's great to have our Yorkshire friends back with us for a third series of Last Tango. Whilst I hope that Wainwright finds a way to reunite the characters once again, I feel that the actors are doing a great job of telling the writer's brilliantly constructed story and I for one hope the series runs and runs.

Following the "happily ever after" plot tie-ups of the last run, it has been intriguing to watch Sally Wainwright's attempt to sustain interest in series three of her mostly wonderful two-family drama. The introduction of Rupert Graves as Alan's surprise son has yet to really take, but with a cast this good (particularly Anne Reid as Celia) there's little cause for concern.

Radio Times review

Caroline and Kate's big day is approaching, but snippy Celia still refers to her daughter's upcoming nuptials as if they are written in italics, or with inverted commas, as in "It's the day before the... wedding".

Oh dear, the prickles on Celia's personality are drawing blood all over the place in Sally Wainwright's bittersweet family drama. Wainwright - and the mighty Anne Reid - are so clever. Celia could easily have been written and acted as a nice, comfy old dear who's found late-life happiness.

Instead she's a complicated woman made brittle by betrayal, wounded by the antics of an adulterous husband. The scars have never healed and Celia judges everyone by the toughest of standards. It makes her hard to like, but it also makes her only too human. Her husband Alan tries to make peace but he's unwisely keeping a big secret from her.

Derek Jacobi on why sex is the secret to Last Tango

"It's two people in their 70s in a lovely and sexual relationship. It proved that old people can be as attractive and exciting and fun to be with as the kids."

Last Tango in Halifax review: keeping us hooked

Just when you think that Last Tango in Halifax can't get any better, writer Sally Wainwright manages to hook you right back in.

Last Tango in Halifax episode two review

Overall, tonight's episode of Last Tango in Halifax was a vast improvement on what we were given last week thanks in part to the concentration on the complex characters that Wainwright has created.

Derek Jacobi on how an accident left him unable to walk

Sir Derek said that filming the latest TV series of Last Tango In Halifax was sometimes painful as he was still recovering.

Last Tango in Halifax review

Sally Wainwright's drama about family and relationships is so good it makes you think about your own.

Radio Times review

There's a lovely opening to the third series of Sally Wainwright's warm, spiky drama as Alan tells Celia a funny shaggy-dog story over their Valentine's Day meal.

It's so typical of Wainwright, who has such a wonderful eye and ear for the little moments in relationships, the daft jokes and the shared humour. You'll be glad that she and Last Tango are back.

Alan and Celia (Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid) are settling into married life. But this story has never been just about them. Celia's daughter Caroline (Bafta-winner Sarah Lancashire) is settling into life with her beloved, pregnant Kate (Nina Sosanya). And Gillian (Nicola Walker), once so unhappy in that grim farm on the moor, has a date with a handsome man (played by Rupert Graves).

It's simply good to see everyone again, even though we know that this will never be, thank heavens, a story full of hearts and flowers. There are thorns, too.

Last Tango in Halifax, BBC1, review

Last Tango in Halifax is so good and so widely praised, you'd think it would have some imitators by now. But as the third series opened tonight on BBC One, there's still nothing else quite like Sally Wainwright's clever, cosy family drama on television.