Tea but no sympathy
KATE & KOJI STV, 8pm
AN old-fAshioNed studio sitcom, with issues of immigration and prejudice at its heart, this is an odd beast.
Well-loved Vera star Brenda Blethyn plays Kate, the casually bigoted owner of a seaside cafe. “There are four things in life I hate,” she trills. “Scroungers, foreigners, doctors and posh people.”
Cue canned laughter, something that makes this sitcom sound like it’s straight from the 80s.
Her cafe is not doing well, on account of the new “Frothy Coffee” rival that’s just opened nearby.
It probably offers soya milk and kale smoothies, while Kate’s more in the business of fry-ups.
Her only customer is Koji, played by Jimmy Akingbola, an asylum-seeking doctor from Africa who is not currently permitted to work, so he nurses one cup of tea all day.
He’s well-dressed, nicely sarcastic and thankfully not troubled by the endless stream of discrimination he faces.
He is all of the four things Kate hates, which sets up the premise as Kate and Koji gradually develop a friendship.
In the meantime, other characters occasionally wander into the cafe in a fashion that prompts you to almost expect to hear the audience burst into applause in the style of Mrs Brown’s Boys.
Inbetweener Blake Harrison plays Kate’s nephew Medium, while Barbara Flynn plays Councillor Bone, Kate’s lifelong arch enemy.
Kate’s whining harridan persona may grate on some, although she serves as a nice satire of someone who has a lot to learn.
And while everything is one big joke, serious issues are tackled over the bacon and eggs – although some might find the dated format hard to stomach.