Bobby Ball and Paula Wilcox interview

I speak to comedy legends Bobby Ball and Paula Wilcox who play Barry and Pauline. Barry is Lisa's dad and Pauline is Dan's mum. From what they had to say it sounds like it's going to be a brilliant series.

Nicola Hughes, Patrick Robinson, Ellen Thomas interview

The Millers are a larger than life West Indian family who prove to be a match for the Johnsons in the new series of Mount Pleasant. Husband and wife Cameron and Jenna Miller are played by Nicola Hughes and Patrick Robinson. They live with his mother, Nana (Ellen Thomas) as well as their two children.

Sally Lindsay and Daniel Ryan interview

Earlier this year, I visited the set of Mount Pleasant in Manchester to find out what's in store as the show enters its fifth series. Here's what Sally Lindsay and Dan Ryan had to say...

Women are either dizzy or gutsy in Mount Pleasant and Lisa (Sally Lindsay) falls into the second category, which is unfortunate for Fergus, who'' trying to cover up his work blunders and hang on to new employee Angie. Over at the house, mysterious Tanya (Samantha Womack) and Bradley (Nigel Harman) finally reveal why they're on the run after Greg realises they're in danger. That's the drama covered, so in the comedy corner, Bobby Ball leads the charge at a car boot sale. Great cast, great comfort telly.

Mount Pleasant is back

Sally Lindsay is thrilled to be back for a fourth series and says Bobby Ball is more than happy to get stuck into the nappy changing and bottle making.

The trouble with Mount Pleasant (Sky Living) is that it's exactly that: pleasant. This curious hybrid of soap opera and sitcom - the entire cast consists of that's so-and-so from so-and-so - is into its third series but I'm blowed if I can put my finger on what it's about, other than a bunch of not-that-interesting people who live, physically and emotionally, in a Northern cul-de-sac.

Main character Lisa (Sally Lindsay, reprising her turn as barmaid Shelley in Corrie) spends most of her time talking hubby Dan out of trying to get her pregnant and, in turn, his entire purpose seems to be whipping the duvet down and demanding 'get in, now!' She usually doesn't.

At least there's a story there, a couple at odds with what they want out of their relationship and failing to talk about it. Everyone else seems to exist in a drama-free void, conversations entirely based on who they used to be with/who they're with now/who they want to be with. This isn't drama, it's more like a gossip down the bus stop.

Third series of the brightly coloured comedy drama set on a suburban Manchester estate, now with added Samantha Womack and Nigel Harman, who have migrated north from EastEnders to play new arrivals Tanya and Bradley. They cause instant trouble for Dan and Lisa (Daniel Ryan and Sally Lindsay), while their daughter catches the eye of young Gary. It's chocka with accomplished soap actors and is basically like Corrie crossed with One Man Two Guvnors. Think plucky violin underscore and waggling eyebrows. Kind of fun.

The soap merry-go-round takes a spin and finds one ex-EastEnder and a current one climbing aboard the frothily undemanding Mount Pleasant. Nigel Harman and Samantha Womack are the Southern party animals causing a stir in the suburban Northern street. He's a dodgy geezer, she's a glamorous control freak and they add a touch of spice to plots that otherwise revolve almost entirely around the tangled love lives of the residents - though redundancy and lesbianism get a bit of a look in.

"If you don't like me, don't watch telly in September," Samantha Womack said to RT recently, referencing the fact that she's in both EastEnders and the third series of Sky Living's amiable but oddly aimless comedy drama. But she and screen husband Nigel Harman (who 'Enders fans will no doubt remember as Den Watts's son Mini Den) actually make a good impression in this opening episode by bringing some off-kilter laughs to the table. Otherwise, Mount Pleasant does just seem to be a parade of massive hairdos, loosely connected scenes and larger-than-life performances from the likes of Paula Wilcox and James Dreyfus.