SISTER OF MERCY

Catastrophe star Sharon Horgan is a high-flyer trying to help her sister cope with a breakdown in new comedy This Way Up

They’re two of TV’s funniest women who’ve gone from strength to strength since they f i rst worked together. Now stand-up comic and panel show stalwart Aisling Bea and Catastrophe writer and star Sharon Horgan have teamed up for a new sitcom.

In 2012 Aisling got her TV break in Sharon’s comedy Dead Boss, and since then she’s won a British Comedy Award and been a regular on shows such as QI and Taskmaster. Meanwhile, Sharon went on to co-write Catastrophe, for which she was Emmy-nominated. The Irish pair remained good friends, and now Aisling’s returned the favour by writing dark comedy This Way Up, which is laced with one-liners and visual gags (and the odd rude word).

The pair play sisters Aine and Shona, who are at very different points in their lives. In episode one, successful businesswoman Shona is helping teacher Aine, who’s four months out of rehab following a nervous breakdown. ‘Her breakdown is the starting point for the series, but it’s about her recovering from that,’ says Aisling, who plays Aine. ‘She starts off broken, and the programme shows that it’s messy and hard to get better and remain well, but she’s going “this way up” on the way to recovery. It’s also about the relationship between Aine and Shona, who paid for her rehabilitation. They’re

very close and their relationship is at the core of the story.’

Shona spends much of her time worrying about Aine, who she keeps track of via an app on her phone which she consults even when she’s enjoying downtime with her new friend Charlotte (Indira Varma). ‘Shona is the sensible, maternal, caring older sister,’ says Sharon. ‘She knows what Aine has been through and is desperate to help her get better.’

In the six- part series, Aine returns to her job teaching English to foreign students and goes back into the tricky world of romance. She goes on an ill-fated blind date, and finds herself drawn to Richard (Tobias Menzies), the father of a boy she’s tutoring. Later in the series, Aine

CHARLOTTE (Indira Varma) With friend Shona, she works in an area of financial management where women are rare. EILEEN (Sorcha Cusack) Aine and Shona’s mum used to be a weather presenter on Irish TV, when she wore a different hat each day. RICHARD (Tobias Menzies) A relationship with Aine develops. Previously estranged from French son Etienne, one of Aine’s pupils. AINE (Aisling Bea) Fragile after her spell in rehab, she spends a lot of time at sister Shona’s plush flat, while avoiding her own dingy pad.