Strange relations

Beverley Callard and Morgana Robinson play mother and daughter in a riotous new family comedy

- IAN MACEWAN, ALISON SLADE

NEW COMEDY Newark, Newark Mon-Wed, 9pm, Gold (box set, Sky/Virgin)

With a sly nod to the Frank Sinatra classic New York, New York, Gold's new comedy series is set in the East Midlands market town of Newark, where Coronation Street star Beverley Callard and Morgana Robinson team up to portray a meddling grandmother and her doughty daughter.

Inspired by the adolescence of writer and creator Nathan Foad, the three-parter stars Robinson as chip-shop manager Maxine, who is turning 40 as a singleton, having split from her loser husband Terry (Gavin & Stacey's Mathew Horne).

With spirits at Maxine's birthday barbecue already dampened by a downpour, her teenage son Leslie (newcomer Jai Hollis) decides this is his chance to come out as gay.

And to make matters worse, Terry gatecrashes the party with another uninvited guest, intent on winning Maxine back with help from her mother, Pauline (Callard).

LIBERATING

“This is a pivotal moment for Maxine, says Robinson, who plays Pippa Middleton in C4's Royal Family comedy The Windsors. She is turning 40, going through a divorce, and sick of mundanity.