Now he’s written a spin-off drama-comedy focusing on two characters who featured in that program’s third season.
The A Word fans will remember Ralph (Leon Harrop) as the son of Louise (Pooky Quesnel),the partner of Joe’s grandfather,Maurice (Christopher Eccleston,sadly missing here,apparently trekking in Nepal for his 60th).
In season three,Ralph married his girlfriend Katie (Sarah Gordy),despite a lot of fussing from both their respective parents – both Ralph and Katie have Down syndrome.
Now,some unspecified time down the track,Ralph&Katie picks up with the pair happily married in their new home,navigating life as newlyweds.
They live in a lovely little house (still in the picture-perfect Lake District),and both have jobs in the local village. UnlikeThe A Word,there’s little tension here beyond married life,and the focus is on the stuff of everyday life,rather than the disabilities that the leads live with. Although in the first episode,Ralph’s mum takes some convincing that the pair has made the right decision in hiring a new support worker. Danny (Dylan Brady) is younger and cooler than Louise would like;she also remembers him as one of the “cool” kids from Ralph’s school – if not a bully,then one of the kids who turned a blind eye.
But Ralph stands by his and Katie’s decision,and soon Danny is a part of their friendship circle. Each half-hour episode is self-contained,focused on rather gentle issues that arise within the pair’s marriage,or their friendship group:Katie’s friend Emma (Jamie Marie Leary) breaks up with her boyfriend and comes to lick her wounds,eventually overstaying her welcome;Ralph is jealous of Katie’s former life with an ex-boyfriend;when Ralph injures his leg,Katie worries about what kind of wife she wants to be. Alongside Quesnel,Sherry Baines and Nigel Betts re-appear as Katie’s parents,as doesThe A Word’s Tom (Matt Greenwood),but there’s also a cast of new characters,including Craig Cash doing his usual Northern schtick as their slightly odd but well-meaning neighbour,Brian.