Married Single Other
Married Single Other is a British television drama created and written by Peter Souter. The series is based on the lives of group of people who are either married, single or "other", other being defined as in a relationship. It began airing on Monday 22 February 2010 on ITV. The drama series was later screened on STV from February 2012. The series was filmed on location in various areas of Leeds, while Left Bank Pictures television studios annexed to The Leeds Studios were used for interior shooting.
Premise
The series revolves around three lower middle class couples living in suburban Leeds. Two of the couples have adolescent children, although there is less focus on them than on their parents. While all three couples appear throughout, episodes generally centre mostly on one of the couples. The series has been compared to an earlier ITV comedy-drama, Cold Feet.Characters
Main characters
; Dickie and Babs: "Married". Dickie, who is self-employed and making income from his ideas, is married to unemployed child psychologist Babs. Babs is unhappy in her marriage. She has one child from her ex, who left her for another woman and whom she now refers to as "the sperm donor". Clint and Dickie are brothers.; Clint and Abbey: "Single". Clint has never slept with the same girl twice, until he meets model Abbey. He falls in love with Abbey, who as yet doesn't feel the same. Clint and Abbey are of the three the upwardly mobile couple.
; Lillie and Eddie: "Other". Lillie, a domestic violence charity worker, has been in a long term relationship with paramedic Eddie. Eddie has asked for 15 years on Lillie's birthday to get married but she has not yet accepted. In the first episode, he asks her and she once again declines. They have two sons, Harry and Joe.
Supporting characters
;Harry: Harry is the eldest son of Eddie and Lillie and is aged 16. He is a somewhat awkward character who is smitten by Gina.;Joe: Joe is the younger son of Eddie and Lillie and is aged 11. He is extremely clever and often displays his knowledge of various subjects, leading him to be bullied at school. Joe also displays some autistic tendencies such as an obsession with numbers, particularly pi.
;Gina: Gina is the daughter of Babs and is aged 15. Unlike Harry, Gina is confident and although she is friends with Harry, she sees herself as a 'cut above' and does not return his romantic interest. The identity of Gina's father is never truly revealed.
;Flo: Flo is a colleague of Eddie's who is constantly frustrated by false emergency calls. She acts as a source of advice for Eddie, however is often irritated by his worrying about his "white middle-class" personal problems.
;Mr Connolly: After breaching the terms of his restraining order and attempting to meet his wife at the women's refuge, Mr Connolly is confronted by Lillie. After attacking Lillie, Mr Connolly feigns injury and attempts to have her sacked for assaulting him.
;Eros: Eros is a 17-year-old petty criminal whom Gina goes to great lengths to defend. After he is caught trying to steal presents from Eddie and Lillie's wedding, Gina relents and has no further contact with him.
;Fabiana: Fabiana is a Brazilian cage dancer whom Clint seduces before changing his mind and rejecting her. In a vengeful act, Fabiana works her way into the circle of friends and seduces Clint's brother, Dickie and moves into his caravan. After Abbey finds out she leaves Clint.
Production
The series has been filmed around several areas of Leeds, generally breaking away from using traditional Yorkshire Television locations such as Chapel Allerton, Kirkstall and Yeadon, instead using areas such as Little London, Lincoln Green, Sherburn-in-Elmet and Burmantofts. Extensive parts of the city centre are used, in particular Clarence Dock. Clint is seen climbing to Abbey's flat which is located above the river terrace of Aire Bar on Call Lane. Allerton High School in Alwoodley is used throughout the series. Eddie and Lillie were shown to get married at Leeds Civic Hall and then had the wedding reception in a marquee on Blenheim Square, Little London. Their house and Clint's flat are in Hanover Square, Burley. Shots of Leeds are used in between scenes.The theme tune to this programme is "Find My Way Back Home" by Priscilla Ahn. The programme also relies on leitmotifs through the episodes, using music by bands such as The Cure, Radiohead and Goldfrapp. Babs performs The Housemartins' Caravan of Love at Eddie and Lillie's wedding.
Cast member Amanda Abbington announced on Facebook in May 2010 that the series was not being renewed by ITV. ITV formally confirmed the series' cancellation. Executive producer Andy Harries told The Guardian "We had an amazing cast, a devoted following and some strong ideas for series two. It's a horrible feeling to be dumped, we thought there was still life in the relationship, but we're definitely 'other' now." He told the 2010 Edinburgh International Television Festival, "It averaged 4.65 million across the series, the best for an ITV drama to be decommissioned in the last four years The audience didn't stay. I suppose the stories weren't strong enough. There were some weaker episodes. It found its strength towards the end, I think a second series would have found its feet and grown its audience. ITV disagreed."
Episodes
Reception
Married Single Other generally received positive reviews. The series has on occasions been compared to Cold Feet, given the similarly aged cast, Northern middle-class setting and similar themes. The series has the same director and producer as Cold Feet, Declan Lowney and Andy Harries respectively. Tim Dowling from The Guardian wrote "Yes, it's predictable. Yes, it's a lot like Cold Feet. And Married Single Other is also a pleasure to watch". Dowling drew similarities from the series compared with Cold Feet such as the "a northern location, a large cast of inter-connected characters, implausibly wry dialogue, dangerous levels of sentimentality, some well-signposted cliches and Ralf Little."On the Box also likened it to Cold Feet, claiming "ITV must be furiously trying to work out how to replicate the success of Cold Feet, the influential comedy drama about the turbulent relationships of a handful of 30-somethings".
Stephen Armstrong from The Times called the programme "a strangely rare television gem - a genuinely good romcom with no bonnets in it." Mike Ward of the Daily Star was impressed by the opening episode, commenting: "It's high time we had a decent comedy-drama to get our teeth into, and this new Monday night six-parter looks like being just the job."
The Leicester Mercury gave a more negative review stating "Married Single Other teetered precariously on the brink of schmaltz for nearly an hour, before finally giving up and plunging headlong into lines which even Richard Curtis would think were OTT."
Brian Viner in The Independent thought it 'lacks almost all of Cold Feet's many virtue... it's more of a wilting carnation than a golden rose.' And noted that 'you can be fairly sure that the writer has spent too long studying the life and works of Richard Curtis – either that or browsing in Clinton Cards'
Unreality Primetime said of the series "It's not that it’s not good; it’s just not Cold Feet good – yet – so I think ITV shot itself in the foot by offering up that comparison."
The series has been nominated in the Best Drama/Entertainment category at the 2010 Royal Television Society Yorkshire Awards.
International
In, Network Ten is scheduled to air the series on 22 August 2010.In, BBC Entertainment showed the series in August 2010.
In, één is scheduled to air the series on 31 August 2010.
In, Eesti Televisioon started showing the series on 30 November 2010.
In, Hot3 started showing the series on April 2011.
In, the show premiered on May 2010 on FOX Next. FOX Life and Fox Life HD started broadcasting the show on 7 March 2011.
In, the show premiered in May 2011 on Sveriges Television.
In, the show premiered in May 2013 on Telewizja Polska TVP2.
In, the show was aired in January 2013 on YLE2.
In, Africa and Asia, the show started airing on BBC Entertainment in December 2011.