The Holiday

Some old college friends share a holiday villa with their families. They are all utterly vile to each other and then go about a lot of improbable nonsense. Be certain that you will question the authenticity of just about every line and every screenplay.

Recipe: Take 8 miserable, unlikeable, flawed adults.

Add a couple of stroppy teenagers and some incredibly annoying younger children.

Don't forget the staple of all current dramas - secretive mobile phone activity.

And finally put them in a villa in what seems to be a particularly cold and windy Malta.

Result: A flat and relentlessly boring story, the type of which Channel 5 excel at.

In these current difficult times it would be wonderful to be able to switch off and watch a series that is entertaining and uplifting. The holiday atmosphere and sun, beach, landscapes are lovely but the characters are unlikeable and odious. The main character is so annoying that I am rooting for her poor suffering husband to leave her. She spends the whole time angry and suspicious, ignoring her kids, then playing the protective, caring mother and just being a wet blanket. No-one seems happy and not one of them has any redeeming feature. Honestly I just felt depressed watching this. I give it 4 stars for the location but if you are in need of cheering up avoid this horrible series. With friends like this who needs enemies.

Four episodes of complete boredom. Characters are boring, acting not much better, To show this over 4 consecutive nights is dreadful. One full episode could have told the story. But, even that would have still been unbearable.

Four loosely connected families come together for a luxury holiday in the sun but soon fall out. Flash forwards warn of infidelity, violence and dark secrets uncovered.

For me it was poor all round, Jill Halfpenny was a good lead, rest of the cast were all at sea, script and story were old hat and predictable. Production values were average, the direction was wobbly at times and the score was quite erratic.

Not the worst of C5's recent drama misses but it wasn't good enough to hook me, disappointing piece of work, I can't recommend watching it.