Drop Dead Gorgeous

Personally I'd given up on the beeb ever producing a solid working class drama again. So when I glimpsed Drop Dead Gorgeous' first series when it repeated on BBC1 I thought it must be a British film that had previously passed me by but to my surprise it was a series.

And what a series it is. Cracking along at a pace more in line with Channel Four's output, yet grounded with a definite representation of real life, it manages more in its hour slot than some movies. It's so good to see the beeb producing TV that is consistently funny, exciting and moving whilst feeling highly contemporary. Seeing as the people behind the show are credited with the likes of Shameless it's not hard to see where this bold style of drama is coming from.

With only one episode currently remaining it's obvious that, with the right exposure, the first two series of Drop Dead Gorgeous will be regarded as TV gold.

Other reviews here praise the dialog and the reality, but that's what makes it a big miss for me.

None of the characters are in the least bit likable. A mother who blows off her obligations at the expense of her fellow workers, a sister that's jealous of her sister's success, a brother who is just plain ill-mannered and obnoxious, and a dad who is completely overbearing. Then there's the usual collection of petty classmates.

It might be realistic, but what it is not is entertaining. If I wanted to see fractious family drama being played out, I can go visit my relatives.

I honestly gave this a try as I stopped watching several times when it annoyed me and then came back to it the next day, but I finally said "Enough!"

I discovered this show on iPlayer and watched all 10 episodes over the course of a few days. It's a hidden gem, anchored by excellent performances from Connor McIntyre, Kathryn Hunt, Dominic Carter and Jennifer Hennessy. The overall tone is similar to other 2000s family dramas such as Fat Friends and At Home With The Braithwaites. While the comic dialog is often overwritten (it's better to have just a few funny characters rather than turning everyone into a wisecracker), there is real meat and emotion to the dramatic dialogue and heavier scenes, and the series avoids cliche as much as possible. Almost all the characters work and almost all experience meaningful development over the course of the series; no mean feat with almost 20 regular and recurring characters. If there's a weakness, it's that Ashley herself is somewhat of a cipher and isn't as well acted as the other characters - Jade and Orla are both more engaging.

Mostly shot on location rather than in a studio, Drop Dead Gorgeous also gets a tremendous amount of mileage out of its setting, revealing a romance to Runcorn that was always there but has never been captured this well before. It's kind of the antidote to Two Pints Of Lager. The series avoids the new town parts of Runcorn and focuses on Weston and Runcorn proper - the Webbs' house is on Bankes' Lane, Nana's house is on Weston Road and Hardeep's shop is on Heath Road South. The cafe (now a bar) where Ashley is first scouted is at the bottom of Runcorn High Street, the garage where Terry and Tiggsy work is on Brindley St, and the Silver Jubilee Bridge is used effectively in several scenes.

This series is a significant piece of work that everyone involved clearly put a lot of effort into. I'm puzzled that it's almost completely forgotten today and apparently wasn't much of a success at the time either. It's also a wonderful time capsule of 2006-2007, before the advent of smartphones and social media. Indeed, several elements to the show simply wouldn't be attempted by a drama today for fear of courting online controversy (Mikey selling his sister's used lingerie; the jokes about Moonbase's weight; Terry and Tiggsy's jibes about gay character Murray; and most of all, Ashley's relationships with an Asian shopkeeper and a teacher). I'm gay and the jokes surrounding Murray's sexuality and relationships made me laugh out loud and didn't offend me at all, in fact they felt honest and inclusive; we have lost something by no longer being able to speak to each other this way.

I really like this series and was gutted when I missed the first two episodes of series 2.The BBC just has not promoted it. Performances are great all round particularly Lee Boardman (ex-Corrie)as Murray and Kathryn Hunt (also late of Corrie) as the mum. Connor McIntyre (Terry) is just as good an actor as it is possible to be. The story lines are believable and engrossing. There is more excellent dialogue in this series than most other TV dramas and it sounds real not contrived. I hope there is no truth in the rumour that it may be axed. My only gripe is that it has been buried way in the schedules of BBC 3. The powers that be need to move it to BBC 1 or 2 immediately in a post-watershed slot.It appeals to me as an almost 60 year old and my work colleagues who are in their 20's-that speaks volumes about the quality of the writing and acting. If you haven't seen it try to, you will not be sorry.

I loved this series, it wasn't just a show for the yoof, adults connected too, 2 series were never enough, I still want to know did Howard jump, & what are Pol, T, Kerry, Val, Murray, Nana & the rest up to now. Did Pol & T's marriage survive there are so many unanswered questions that need resolving.

its been one the best working class dramas in the last 10 years And the BBC were idiots not to push for more. Even tucked away on BBC3 it was still must see telly.

Please Auntie Beeb, if you wont commission more at least re run it. The adult characters were really interesting and as a viewer you felt you could connect to them.