THIS WEEK’S CHOICE

Martin Freeman (who also co-created ) stars in this new Sky original comedy as struggling dad-of-two Paul who, alongside Ally, played by Daisy Haggard, navigates the ever-evolving definition of parenting.

It’s the classic parental paradox – it is possible, in the very same moment, to love your child to the horizon of the universe, yet still be angry enough to want to send them there.

In the opening episode, Paul spends the night fighting his own anger and incredulity at his children’s inability to go the heck to sleep. Then, in this week’s second episode, a parents evening forces Paul and Ally to evaluate their hopes and dreams for their kids, and how far exactly they are willing to go for their sake.

“The series is based on things that happen to me as a dad, and I particularly love the sort of comedy, like this, that’s trying to be a bit darker and more thought-provoking about life as a parent. We are trying to make something hopefully true, open, relevant – certainly for anyone who has ever had small children!

“I just noticed that when people ask new parents, ‘How’s it going?’, they always say, ‘It’s just amazing, isn’t it?’, no matter how awful it actually is.

“I think, ‘When are we going to cut this nonsense?’ Yes, of course, it’s amazing. Once you’ve had kids, that is the reason to be alive, the most important thing in your life. That, to me, goes without saying.

“But what doesn’t go without saying is how angry you are at times. It’s individual, of course, and I can only speak for myself, but I think it needs to be said how angry you are as a parent and how [you’re] full of this rage that is going nowhere!”

“Kids do make you angrier than anything because they’re really quite irritating, They are so annoying because you can’t control them, and they don’t do what you expect. As a parent, you often end up losing your temper to win, but of course then you don’t win!”