Alison Steadman and Duncan Preston star as matriarch and patriarch of the Paradise family in this new six-parter about families and all the stuff that comes with them. But things aren't perfect in the Paradise's domestic setup - do you see what they did there? All the kids have gone off and got married and Mrs Paradise sees the yawning chasm between her and her husband. Will she grasp her autumn years in both hands and take them dancing or just carry on as usual? We've got six episodes to find out.

The peerless Alison Steadman walks the line between laughter and tears with aplomb, taking the lead as Pauline Paradise in this six-part comedy drama. Nearing the end of her road as a lollipop lady, Pauline is apprehensive about her looming retirement. But does anyone in her family care that her life is at a crossroads? Not a jot, it seems, with taciturn hubby Ken (Duncan Preston) being, well, taciturn, and her brood of offspring preoccupied with their own lives and rearing assorted infants. It's a Syndicate-style format, with the perspective shifting from one Paradise to another, week by week. The impressive supporting cast includes Celia Imrie, Larry Lamb, Ashley Jensen, Graeme Hawley and Zoe Telford.

Fans of Modern Family will recognise one of the conceits here: husbands and wives sitting on sofas, chatting amicably directly to camera. But Love and Marriage isn't Modern Family. In fact, judging by this first episode, I'm not quite sure what it is. Maybe it's down to the uneven tone. It begins so breezily you think, maybe this is a comedy.

Or even a comedy drama as the interwoven lives of the Paradise family slosh across the screen amid much shouting and laughter. Forbearing matriarch Pauline (Alison Steadman) is retiring from her job as a school lollipop lady and she's expected to fade quietly away. Then, suddenly, Love and Marriage becomes something else altogether, and there's a dash of Last Tango in Halifax and a daub of tragedy. Still, it's intriguing enough to make you want to return.

Alison Steadman interview

Alison Steadman talks about her role in ITV comedy drama Love And Marriage.

Gavin & Stacey star Alison Steadman washes herself of eager-to-please Essex mum Pam to play a matriarch who's finally had enough of her family in Love and Marriage, ITV's latest star-packed drama.

When her husband fails to show support throughout her retirement and the death of her father, frustrated doormat Pauline Paradise (Steadman) breaks it to her adult kids - who include Ashley Jensen and Coronation Street star Graeme Hawley - that she's packing her bags and starting a new life. Also featuring Celia Imrie and Larry Lamb, Love and Marriage is at once funny and poignant, disheartening and upflifting. We'd say it's definitely worth a peek, even before the mini-Gavin & Stacey reunion.

ITV find themselves back on traditional territory with the cuddly comedy-drama Love And Marriage, in which - and steel yourselves here, because this sounds like an outright parody - Alison Steadman stars as a retired lollipop lady and matriarch called Pauline Paradise. The sort of whimsical confection where nary a scene goes by without chortling musical accompaniment, its "hook" is the device of having the various members of the extended Paradise clan speak directly to the audience from their sofas, much like those old Prudential adverts. Other than that it's nothing you haven't seen before: family strife presented as an ultimately positive cavalcade of blunders and hugs.

Alison Steadman: Life seems to stop at 35 in TV

Alison Steadman, who is back on our screens as a lollipop lady, has slammed the lack of TV roles for older people.

The fabulous Lily Savage makes a welcome return to our TV screens tonight when chat show host and comedian Paul O'Grady steps up to pull his Little Cracker. Inviting his drag queen alter ego to make a cameo appearance, O'Grady spins a dramatic anecdote out of a teenage trip to see The Exorcist - a spine-chilling experience that spooks the adolescent Paul (Robin Morrissey) out of his wits, finding cold comfort from his no-nonsense mam (Alison Steadman). The tale's a hoot but this cracker really takes off when Savage lets rip in all her foul-mouthed glory in the behind-the-scenes follow-up.

Sky's series of one-off comedy-drama vignettes, created by talent more often seen in front of the camera shoots back to the early '60s for Alison Steadman's The Autograph. Though only ten minutes long, her offering sees her playing with fire a little as she recalls seeing the Beatles at the Cavern and getting an autograph from Paul and John. Depicting the Beatles on film can be a recipe for howling disaster, with any slight imperfection in costume, accent or playing style (right down to Ringo's distinctive way of flicking his wrist) showing up to the legion of sad Beatles nerdlings out there (this writer included). Steadman's short fails hopelessly on this count (George Harrison's guitar tone sounds more like a Strat than a Gretsch, for one thing), but it's still a rather charming tale that involves the unique sight of Steadman herself playing her own mother.

This cornucopia of delightful mini dramas continues with a double helping of cockle-warmers. First up, actress Alison Steadman plays her own mother in a cool episode from her teenage years in Liverpool. It's 1962 and the young Steadman has to pull the wool over her mum's eyes if she's to see the young Beatles at the legendary Cavern Club. Hot on Steadman's kitten heels comes comedian Dylan Moran as a dad who finds himself way out of his comfort zone as he tries to connect with his teenage son, the victim of a street mugging. Catch the making-of films that follow too - they're great fun.