A matter of lives and death
THE OTHER ONE
BBC1, 9pm
WHEN this pilot aired in 2017, it proved such a hit that the critics said it could have the legs for a whole series – and lo and behold, here it is.
Tonight replays the pilot, which still feels fresh, a reminder of the brilliant premise and the cracking ensemble cast of four women.
It starts with a surprise party for Colin, hosted by his wife Tess, played by a scene-stealing Rebecca Front, and their tense daughter Cathy, played by The Windsors’ Ellie White.
But Colin drops dead from a heart attack within moments of arriving, and it doesn’t take long before Tess and Cathy discover he had another family living down the road.
Downton’s Siobhan Finneran is Colin’s ‘other wife’, Marilyn, a chain smoker who loathes fresh air and has a mysterious health condition.
She describes Colin as “a sexual shire horse of a man”. Conveniently, Colin called his other daughter Catherine too.
But Cat, played by Lauren Socha, couldn’t be more different from her new halfsister Cathy.
Cathy has a slightly pathetic fiance, played by Amit Shah, works in risk management, and is “rattling through the seven stages of grief ” rather efficiently.
Meanwhile, Cat works for
Deliveroo and has “completed Tinder”.
Some polite wrestling over custody of Colin’s ashes sets up the plot for this episode.
“This will be the first time we all know where he is,” notes Cat.
A smart, sweet comedy about what happens when you discover your dead dad has a secret family and the women try to make sense of it all.