Rovers returned

The contrast between the grim milieu and the soap-opera mundanity of the story – which takes in subplots about unwanted pregnancy, drunken rows and more – is fascinating. With a profusion of northern-English accents among the cast, it invites you to imagine a postapocalyptic Coronation Street, a feeling magnified by the occasionally shaky dialogue and uneven performances. That’s not necessarily a criticism: we’re reminded that these are ordinary people who’ve suffered an extraordinary fate. It’s there, too, in the everyday items you find: from hospital shift rotas to bottles of antidepressants, they add up to a convincing portrait of real lives cut short.