Mon 26 Apr 2021 17.00 EDT
There were two oddly refreshing things about ITVâs new drama series Viewpoint, which is stripped across this week (three if you count it being set and shot in Manchester, rather than London â or Belfast pretending to be London). The first is that the lone woman walking beside the canal in the opening shot is a) doing so in daylight and b) destined to survive the journey. You donât realise how much you relish the sight of non-dead women by canals in TV drama until you see one. It feels ludicrously charming.
The second is that time moves in linear fashion. There are no flashbacks. The lone woman â single parent (effectively) Zoe, played by Alexandra Roach picks up her daughter from primary school, covertly fascinated by much yummier mummy Kate (Catherine Tyldesley) as she does so. Both mothers engage in happy chat with devoted teacher Gemma (Amy Wren), and only the viewer sees Gemma return to a possessive, borderline-coercive boyfriend, G