It’s fair to say that True Love has had one mightily impressive cast for a series of semi-improvised stories however there is one man that no ensemble TV drama should be without… that being the wonderful David Morrissey. Luckily Morrissey is the star of the final episode in which he plays lonely taxi driver Adrian who spends most of his time looking after his daughter Karen, who in turn was having it off with her teacher (Billie Piper) in episode three, so he turns to online dating sites to find a potential match. After several montages show him scrolling across various screens he finally meets Kathy, a British national living in Hong Kong with whom he has a sudden connection as they talk on the phone before deciding that she should come to visit. Of course his decision comes under fire from both his work colleague and Karen who is ashamed of her father, thinking that he is essentially paying for sex.

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Now we’re into episode four, those of who have been watching True Love from the beginning are trying to put these stories in some sort of chronological order, especially today where we met David again, who yesterday was having an affair with Holly, this time focusing on his marriage to Jane Horrocks’ Sandra which obviously is anything but a happy one.

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As much as I’ve been enjoying True Love I have to say I’ve become slightly annoyed that ‘What the World Needs Now, Is Love Sweet Love,’ is constantly stuck in my head and in addition I just find myself randomly humming it from time to time.

There’s no escaping it though as it appears at the start of every episode, including our third instalment which features Billie Piper as a put upon teacher. I was taken aback at how dowdy Piper looked here, because even when she appears in period pieces, such as A Passionate Woman, she still appears utterly glamorous but True Love sees her don many an unflattering grey cardigan, while she is able to portray a woman who is seemingly stuck in a rut.

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So onto our second episode of True Love and, as I mentioned yesterday, this time it features Lacey Turner’s Michelle in a more prominent role. This evening we see her married to Ashley Walters’ Paul, who believes the love they once had is gone since the birth of their son. It is Paul who we follow on his daily commute to his job managing a carpet warehouse, where every day he passes by a bus-stop where a girl smiles at him a moment that keeps him happy for the rest of the day that is until he gets home again.

It transpires that this girl is Jaime Winstone’s Stella, who makes Paul feel a lot more alive than his wife does as she more is keen on caring for their son or deciding what they should have for their tea. Eventually Paul decides to contact Stella, by writing his name and number by the bus stop, with the two finally meeting in her flat before quickly beginning a full-blown affair. Unlike yesterday’s encounter between Serena and Nick, which was built on memories of a relationship long since passed, here Paul’s motives for straying are because he feels that there’s no passion with Michelle any more while there is plenty with Stella.

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When a film or TV series claims to be mainly improvised I often find myself trying to guess the moments when the actors are creating their own dialogue rather than reading from a script and this was something I found myself doing a lot while watching True Love. The BBC drama features five stories all set in and around the seaside town of Margate which, as the title would suggest, are all about true love which in some cases has already been found but in others are tested such as in episode one.

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Billie Piper is set to return to our TV screens this week, starring in new BBC drama True Love.

The former Doctor Who actress could be about to cause some measure of controversy once more – but then again she’s used to it after her time on Secret Diary Of A Call Girl – as in one of the episodes, she’ll be engaging in a lesbian kiss with her co-star Kaya Scodelario.

It’s not the lesbian aspect of the kiss that will be controversial of course, but the fact that Piper’s character will be a teacher and she’ll be locking lips with one of her teenage pupils.

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More football dominating the schedules this week but if you’re not bothered at all by who wins the Euros here’s five things you might want to watch on the box instead.

Primeval (ITV1, Sat, 6pm)
For fans of dinosaur drama Primeval without access to digital TV it’s been a long sixteen month wait to watch series five after its initial airing on Watch last year. Series five starts with a promise to explore new plot strands such as a revelation about Matt’s identity as well as much more about Philip Burton’s New Dawn programme. However what most of us come to see is the CGI beasties and this week’s big story revolves around giant burrowing subterranean creature which sounds like classic primeval stuff. Original cast members Hannah Spearrit and Andrew-Lee Potts are still great as lovebirds Connor and Abby while Ben Miller, as ever, steals every scene he is as the Government agent James Lester. Primeval is an example of Saturday night family entertainment done right and is a far cry for the endless run of singing competitions that populate the weekend schedules.

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David Tennant has insisted that he doesn’t regret taking on the role of the titular timelord in Doctor Who.

The 41 year actor joined the BBC sci fi drama in 2005, when Christopher Eccleston announced that he wouldn’t be returning for a second series. He became famous worldwide almost overnight and was one of the most talked about British stars up until and well after his final episode aired on 1 January 2010.

Many former stars of the show have lamented ever joining it’s ranks, saying they became typecast and that the part always overshadowed their professional life, however it seems that Tennant has been one of the lucky ones.

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Lacey Turner, who of course shot to fame in her EastEnders role as Stacey Slater, has revealed that she believes she’s had messages from beyond the grave from her grandmother.

In an interview with the Radio Times about her current role in Sky paranormal drama Bedlam, and about her forthcoming new drama Switch, which is about modern-day witches living in London, Lacey explained, “I was four when [my Nan] died and her name was Amelia, which is my middle name…

“But we called her Nanny Leo because her dog was called Leo.

“I’ve been to see mediums and they’ve said, ‘Your Nan’s here’ and sometimes I do think that I’ve been with her.”

However, of visits to psychic mediums, Lacey often wondered how much information about her life they’d possibly gleaned from internet searches about her… Read more & comment »

Former EastEnders star Lacey Turner has revealed that she left the hit BBC1 soap because she was “curious” to see what other projects she could work on if she wasn’t committed to the London based drama.

Speaking to the PA, Lacey – who landed a total of 33 awards for her portrayal of Stacey Slater in EastEnders – said, “It was a hard decision because I loved playing Stacey and I loved my time there…

“But it just got to a point where I’d been there for seven years and I was curious [about what else was out there] – and once I’m curious, I’m gone.”

And of course, Lacey didn’t have to wait long before the offers of stage and screen roles came flooding in, and she’s currently about to return to our screens in a second series of hit paranormal drama, Bedlam… Read more & comment »