Ayling-Ellis is in the driving seat of this creaky bus of a drama

Philip Cunnington on Code of Silence

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Dramas centring around deafness seem to be like buses - you wait ages for one, and then two come along at once.

And like BBC's Reunion, this week's new ITV drama Code of Silence (ITV1, Sun/Mon, 9pm) also stars former EastEnder and Strictly champ Rose Ayling-Ellis.

It's not her fault that her two starring roles have been scheduled together, but Code of Silence suffers in comparison with the harder-edged Reunion.

In the new ITV show, Ayling-Ellis's Alison is a young woman in flux - her relationship has broken down, she's living at home with her mum and under threat from a new landlord and she has two dull jobs to help her pay the rent.

One of those dull jobs is in a police station canteen, which brings her to the attention of coppers DI James Marsh (Andrew Buchan) and DS Ashleigh Francis (Charlotte Ritchie).