Let’s have There She Goes again
THE very first scene of BBC2’S witty comedy drama There She Goes perfectly lays bare the agony and ecstasy of being the parent of a disabled child.
Eleven-year-old Rosie is at the library with her family but within seconds she is screeching at the top of her lungs, pulling all the books off the shelves and running amok.
Her dad Simon, played by David Tennant, chases after her, picking up books, muttering: “Sorry, sorry everyone,” while her mum Emily, a wonderful Jessica Hynes, scolds in a hushed voice: “I thought you had her.”
Other parents, staff and children stare and eye roll, while Simon and Emily struggle to contain Rosie’s outburst into something more socially acceptable.
Then suddenly, on account of nothing in particular, Rosie calms down and quietly says “Mama”. For the first time ever. For
Emily and Simon, time stops. “Clever girl!” They have lurched from stressed-out to proud parents in a heartbeat – and viewers will feel it too.
This is series two of the show based on the experiences of writers Shaun Pye and Sarah Crawford, whose daughter was born with a rare chromosomal disorder.
It follows the life of learning disabled Rosie, played brilliantly by Miley Locke, and her parents and brother Ben as they cope with everyday situations.
Wacky
And while there are heartrending moments as it tackles an emotionally fraught issue, it is also very funny, largely thanks to Simon’s un-pc, sometimes shocking, worn-out sarcasm.
He dubs Rosie’s school sports day the “wacky races” and bemoans the fact she’s at a school where the half-term newsletter sometimes has an obit section.
His humour as a coping mechanism, coupled with Emily’s unrelenting efforts to help Rosie, make for raw, honest and sometimes unsettling comedy.
Simon spends a lot of time “in the night garden” enjoying his own boozy version of the Pinky Ponk – parents of toddlers will get it – as Emily frets that Mr Tumble doing Makaton on the ipad isn’t enough.
Flashbacks to 2007 reveal Emily on Prozac, Simon debating whether to leave and Ben asking if his sister will ever “be normal”. But these darker moments never linger, with present day Rosie bringing so much joy to a family that is now happy, which is hugely comforting to watch.
Whether it’s Rosie running the wrong way in a race, scribbling all over her bedroom wall or managing to be sarcastic in Makaton, it’s all Rosie’s normal.
A perfectly pitched, bold series, this shines a comedic spotlight on a life that for some is reality.
And you never know, it may well put an end to some of those eye rolls.
IN the red corner, we have yummy Jesmummy
blogger Meghan, played by Jessica De Gouw, with her third “oops baby” on the way, and living out a super-stylish middle-class dream.
Over in the blue corner, we have slightly more scummy mummy Agatha, played by Downton’s Laura Carmichael, slightly sweating with her first pregnancy, strapped for cash and working in a low-paid supermarket job.
This is the premise for BBC1’S
CORONATION ★Street:
Stories That
on ITV on Gripped The Nation
down was a joyful trip Monday drama. We 60 years of cobbles
up in jail, saw Deirdre banged
crash, plus that terrifying tram
days of a clips of the early
– plus lothario Ken Barlow
her Hilda Ogden and
what curlers. “Oh ‘eck”
a treat.
Australian thriller The Secrets She Keeps, which is hugely predictable but gripping nonetheless.
Of course their lives are about to collide. Of course Agatha has a slightly unhealthy interest in Meghan. And of course Meghan’s life really isn’t that perfect. We’ve seen Single White Female, we know the warning signs.
For baby drama, blackmail and betrayal, this may have some wellsignposted plot lines, but it would be rude not to check if I’m right...