What to watch
ITV, 9.00PM
Having last year pulled off the rare feat of – after a 13-year pause – making a comeback almost as popular as the original series, writer Mike Bullen’s romantically inclined comedy about the ups and down of a group of Manchester pals returns for a new seven-part run. If last year’s series made hay, understandably, with the indignities of growing older, the focus this time round returns to the key theme of maintaining relationships, both friendly and romantic.
For Adam (James Nesbitt) the big question is how to progress his relationship with girlfriend Tina (Leanne Best) now they’ve been together almost a year. Jenny (Fay Ripley) not only faces new challenges at work but also in her relationship with best friend Karen (Hermione Norris), who’s distracted by discovering the truth in the old maxim “be careful what you wish for” in her new publishing venture. And David (Robert Bathurst), so entertainingly reduced to penury of late, finds instant appeal in the form of the high net worth Nikki (Siobhan Finneran) after a tip off from old pal Pete (John Thomson) nets him “an entrée to the Cheshire set”. Signs are it will be another enjoyably bumpy ride. Gerard O’donovan