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The Trouble with Maggie Cole is a new drama starring Dawn French in the title role, set in the sleepy coastal town of Thurlbury, which starts off looking like Sunday evening nonsense somehow reserved for Wednesday primetime, then adds some intrigue, and then falls somewhere inbetween by the end of the first episode.
On one hand, it’s great for scenery, and it’s undemanding fluff, such as when Dawn is showing Hayley from Corrie how to use a dating app.
When it comes to the trouble with Maggie Cole, it’s not a spoiler to say that she’s most adept at putting her foot in it, and this comes in spades at one pivotal point in the episode, courtesy of a situation when this ‘local historian’ gives a radio interview and says a bit more than she intended.
There’s also a pre-credits moment where someone is shown being run over, but who? And who by? We don’t know yet. Maybe that’s linked to Maggie’s troubles, or maybe it’s not?
Some, all or none of these troubles will be resolved over the course of six weeks, although I think I’m all about the bass, treble, I mean… no trouble… since once I got to the ‘next time’ bit at the end, I really didn’t need to see any more.
If you like people-spotting, there’s also Mark Heap from Spaced and Friday Night Dinner as the headmaster (and Maggie’s husband), Lee from Corrie, and if you want the cheapest pint ever, his pub charges just £3.10!
The Trouble With Maggie Cole begins tonight at 9pm on ITV. The series is not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
After broadcast, each episode will be on the ITV Hub.
Episode 1 Score: 1/10
Director: Ben Gregor
Writer: Mark Brotherhood
Producers: Joanna Hanley, Angela Sinden
Music: Jonathan Whitehead
Cast:
Maggie Cole: Dawn French
Peter Cole: Mark Heap
Brian Daniels: Lee Boardman
Jamie Cole: Phil Dunster
Sydney Hurst: Hollie Edwin
Jill: Julie Hesmondhalgh
Kelly: Kerry Howard
Becka Cole: Gwyneth Keyworth
Liam Myer: Laurie Kynaston
Neil: Joe Layton
Alex Myer: Arthur McBain
Josh: Rocco Padden
Karen Saxton: Vicki Pepperdine
Marcus Ormansby: Patrick Robinson
Emil: Tomi May
Phil: Ray Strasser King
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.