Brief Encounters Worth Flirting With

Brief Encounters, a new desperate housewives comedy-drama set in 1982 Sheffield that’s been dubbed “The Full Monty with sex aids“, will screen 8.35 Wednesdays on TV One from August 10.

“It is the story of the first generation of Ann Summers party hosts, a pioneering set of dildo-wielding women out to empower themselves and enrich Jacqueline Gold via the medium of split-crotch panties and other mild and mildly thrush-inducing perversions,” said The Guardian.

“It’s fun. Just good enough to while away an hour without making you want to throw something at the screen … and just bad enough to make your eyes mist with longing for the great days of Making Out, Clocking Off, Playing the Field and assorted other Horsfield, Abbott and Mellor masterpieces that blended beautiful writing, social history, class issues, laughter and tears with such deft hands.”

The Independent dubbed the six-part series, when went to air on ITV early this month “a jolly romp … that captures the feel of those times neatly”.

Echoed The Telegraph: “These desperate housewives were funny and full of heart … It was as if Victoria Wood had rewritten The Full Monty.”

Viewers agreed, with the premiere drawing 4.6 million and a 21.4% channel share to comfortably win the slot and outperform the channel slot average.

The cast includes Downton Abbey’s Penelope Wilton, Peaky Blinders’ Sophie Rundle, Coronation Street’s Angela Griffin, Our Zoo’s Peter Wight and Happy Valley’s Karl Davies.