BOB HARVEY

Oh dear, I love you Sally Lindsey but Madame Blanc is another TV drama along with The Larkins that by rights should be struggling to find an afternoon slot let alone prime time, with a reasonable plot ruined by the absurd inclusion of the incongruous, stereotypical characters of Judith and Jeremy Lloyd James, hamming it up with unashamed incredulity. When my choices are currently saturated by Prime and Netflix (and some worthwhile emerging terrestrial dramas), there can be few second chances. A pilot episode might at least have identified weaknesses that had the potential to upset the balance of what is a well-intentioned but ultimately flawed production.

Badly constructed screenplay, manipulative dialogue. Jamie's teacher talks to the pupils about basing their future on reality and not dreaming, but Jamie's drag dream is acted out without an ounce of practice or hard work to achieve that goal, so no lesson learned by a boy who behaves like a spoilt brat. Many cross-dressers/drag performers are not gay (Michael Ball in Hairspray as one example) many are even married, so with a misplaced emphasis on the Aids connection, the story stuttered along wrapped in a sugar coating of mediocre music.