The Spa

Series one, episode one
We can imagine the pitch: ‘Benidorm’ meets ‘The Brittas Empire’. And if that was indeed the goal, ‘The Spa’ (created by ‘Benidorm’ mastermind Derren Litten) succeeds admirably. Rebecca Front does a professional job as the spa manager Alison, keeping the show on the road while her staff, ranging from Nadine Marshall’s tyrannical fitness instructor to Tim Healey’s well-endowed handyman, threaten to derail it at every turn.

Highlights include the dippy receptionist confusing ‘obese’ with ‘a beast’, and an extended sequence in which a cleaner threatens suicide from the roof to a soundtrack so predictable that, if nothing else, makes the art of sitcom-writing look very easy indeed. Cheerful enough, then, but very short on laughs. ‘Benidorm’ meets ‘The Brittas Empire’ it is.