Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey) and Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey) star in the newest addition to Sky 1 HD’s comedy fold – and it’s a welcome one.

Taking flight from the bittersweet scripts of Matt King (Peep Show, Whites) and Steve Edge (Star Stories), Starlings is a humble, heart-warming affair, casting an observant eye on the foibles and flaws of everyday family life for a particularly hectic household.

The Starlings are a normal brood getting on with life in Matlock, Derbyshire, tackling obstacles as and when they come, and they’ve got a fair few in this first episode. Terry (Coyle) and wife Jan (Sharp) have just moved Grandad (Alan Williams) into their already-crammed home – following an unspecified incident at the retirement home – to share with none-too-pleased teen Charlie (Finn Atkins), and now they’re preparing for one more arrival. It’s only small and due any minute as daughter Bell (Rebecca Night) goes into labour via a birthing pool in the living room.

Then there’s Grandad’s illegitimate son and, erm, interesting artist Loz (King), Jan’s nephew and returning traveller Fergi (Edge) out in the caravan and Bell’s ex-boyfriend Reuben (Ukweli Roach), who’s determined to make things right and get Bell back. Throw in Terry’s suspicious phone calls and oddball son Gravy (John Dagleish) losing one of his friends of the “four-legged and four-armed” variety, and it’s fair to say that our weekly visits to the Starlings nest are going to be pretty eventful.