User reviews

Very enjoyable and moving. I loved how each character had their own storyline and everyone could relate to one. Very well written and an easy watch!!!

When I saw the trailer, I assumed another reasonable comedy/drama.

I was pleasantly surprised, Wonderfully emersive characters who will be relatable to everyone, tell a heart warming story of rags to riches.

The first episode introduces the motley crew of shop workers who instanly feel like people you have grown to know and love. Each with their own story to tell it was a nice surprise after I had expected giddy comedy from an outlandish group of characters

Supprisingly moving at times, especially the second episode which has set up a brilliant potential series which thus far has some excellently believable characters wonderfully written, a good prospect and a really emotional yet feel good programme!

Another TV play from the stable of Kay Mellor who seems to have been off our screens for a while. Very promising start to what looks like being a tight drama set in Leeds. Interesting premise with background stories of five supermarket workers,all of whom have financial problems of their own,panning out to lead us to the "big win" that they are all involved in. Excellent performances from an ensemble cast,as is usual with Kay's dramas, but special praise to Timothy Spall who never disappoints,in my opinion.The locations are believable as is the script which is "gritty" without being dour.Left me waiting with anticipation for the next episode with enough to have whetted my appetite.

I've just finished watching the final episode of this excellent series. I have been impressed throughout with the acting and the brilliant scripts. Being from Leeds myself I was particularly impressed with the accents although a slight hint of Lancashire from a few of them but overall it was not like Coronation Street or Emmerdale which seem to have very strong Yorkshire or Lancashire accents in the wrong counties. The plot of the whole story was brilliant and believable of what may happen with people in that position. Timothy Spall was brilliant as usual but Mathew Lewis and Mathew McNulty played brilliantly brothers. Kay Mellor I don't think can do anything wrong and I feel a lot of pride in the fact she is a Leeds lass but I hope I'm not too biased because I think people up and down the country could relate to this story and it's characters.

The first 2 series were very well written, great actors and a good plot, series 3 a little bit meh but series 4!!!!! Bad script, bad plot, bad casting feels like it should be on children's tv. Completely unbelievable story. Very disappointed.

Very good series, Timothy Spall brilliant as always but the whole cast were just fantastic,the drama of Bobs cancer only discovered after the supermarket robbery, the brilliant drama of Leanne having stolen her daughter from being a foster parent, might the drugs dealer setup by Jamie get off on some dubious legal issue and because Jamie is dead go for Stuart instead..... I do hope that another series might be on the cards because although it appears Jamie died so much more can be done with the story line, especially with regards to Leanne and Stuart etc...how Bob progresses and of course...how much lottery winnings might get spent on the dogs home?? all these questions and much more still need to be answered. more please...............

This used to be a great series but season 4 is deeply disappointing. The acting is mediocre at best and as for the predictable plot, Kay clearly thinks we are all brain dead idiots.

This season appears to be a pathetic attempt to give type cast daughter Gaynor Faye and a very desperate Neil Morrissey (who is probably just another mate of Kay's) some much needed work. This is most disapppinting Neil, as you can do far better than this utter drivel. As for Kym Marsh, you should have stuck with Coronation Street because your acting skills are non existent. At least you got to wear a few hair extensions.

I will not be wasting any more of my time watching further episodes. My 4 star rating is probably more than generous but unfortunately 3.5 star is not an option.

I totally disagree with the previous review. I'm really enjoying it. The acting is not mediocre, the storyline may be predictable but it is also enjoyable & lighthearted in the current climate. Gaynor faye is an excellent actress and Neil Morrissey is brilliant as the awkward and flawed gambler. Keep going watching it Everyone! Don't listen to the bah humbug previous reviewer!

We've enjoyed two of Kay Mellor's other shows when they finally washed up on our shores, esp. "Love, Lies and Records." Sorry to report that season 1 of this one's "not available in our location"; Season 2's winners are salt-of-the earth hospital workers, portrayed by a first-rate ensemble of Northern actors, several (Siobhan Finneran, Natalie Gavin...) familiar from UK cop shows. Mellor comes up with some clever plotting right out of the gate, and the first couple of eps are very well done, but in the last few she seems to be straining to keep it real, Bradford-style. A few of the over-the-top plot twists--nurse finds novel way to neutralize bullying husband; XXL porter clicks with online Asian cutie--seemed inspired by the famous study that showed that lottery winners, once the initial thrill's worn off, are only slightly happier in their daily lives than paralyzed accident victims.

Season 3, which is highly recommended, combines a couple of surefire plot lines--stately home on the skids, downstairs staff steps up, "Rain Man"-style savant fills in plot holes, middle-aged-sexy DI (Polly Walker, with a crunchy Yorkie accent) gets after kidnappers and art thieves. Anthony Andrews, of "Brideshead" fame, shows us what Sebastian might've grown up to be like if he'd hung around to inherit the title; the rest of the cast is first rate. Sentiment, romance, suspense, mild social commentary (solid working-class characters versus sketchy upper-crusters)--what's not to like?

Season 4 is a more pedestrian effort, but still quite watchable: struggling 20-somethings work in a boarding kennel, have to scramble when their winning lottery ticket goes missing. Appealing young cast (notably Katherine Rose Morley from "Last Tango in Halifax"); Neil Morrissey, memorable as a bent copper on "Line of Duty" and a sketchy stockbroker on "Unforgotten," does not disappoint us here.

I can't understand why this us shown at 9pm. It's more like something for kids tv. Very poor acting to a terrible script. Utterly ridiculous scenarios - totally unbelievable. Too many stereotypes also to tick boxes. Avoid at all costs.

This is one of the worst written, worst acted, and most sophomoric programs I have ever seen. Every single line, every element of backstory, and every character is so predictable that it feels like a 12-year old wrote it. Add to that a soundtrack of smarmy, imitation pop music, and it makes the perfect stew of intellectual diarrhea. A decent premise gone completely wrong.

Season 1 and 2 were very enjoyable, season 3 was clearly a carbon copy of downtown abbey and not so good, Now some time later we get season 4 and it's same old same old, cardboard bog standard characters, strange casting choices, very uninteresting sob stories, 2 episodes in and no further forward with the story.

How Kay Mellor got this commissioned is beyond belief. A 10 year old could have written this. Where they find these actors and there fake Yorkshire accents goodness knows. Neil Morrissey must cringe when rewatching this nonsense. A total insult to the intelligence, roll on warmer Spring Evenings when people can escape to the garden and avoid this rubbish.

Series 1 to 3 decent drama.

Series 4 is woeful.

Not a criticism of the acting as such, but the storyline and 'antics' of the characters is just too unbelievably bad to call this anything but poor.

Situation is unbelievable, not involving the police at the earliest opportunity is ridiculous.

A band of broke teenager/twenty somethings follow the thief of their lottery ticket to Monaco, on borrowed money....'hilarious antics' do not ensue...

Just awful. Thought BBC was supposed to offer value for money. Not sure filming this garbage in the south of France does this.

I really don't know why we are persevering with this series. This one feels pitched at CBBC! It is painful, I guess we are hanging on for the justice of a happy ending. Rather disappointing there is another episode to go. Next week I think we will watch on catch up and ffwd for the conclusion. We can rewatch Line of Duty!

Series 4 is the first one of these I've seen, and it's bad. The kids in this syndicate are all irritating characters and hard to like, with predictable and boring back stories too. So I just ended up rooting for Frank, which I'm pretty sure isn't the intention. Some of the scenarios are just plain stupid, and painfully unfunny. This should be a CBBC show.

What is going on in this country? Has the level of intelligence sunk to the stage where everything has to be pitched at no higher than Blue Peter?

We wanted some light hearted watching and thought this would fit the bill. However, half way through episode 2 we could stand no more.

The acting is on a par with a local kids drama class and the story telling and direction like Peppa Pig.

The budget is clearly cheap.

Neil Morrissey looks like Alan Partridge, what has happened to his hair? Was this for the diabolical character? He seems like he's acting by numbers.

You can not invest in any of these characters as the story is so dire.

I really hate having to pay the BBC tax and they are producing more and more dross like this. It now should be subscription only.

Do not waste one minute of your time on this. Shame on the writers and producers but mostly the commissioners for this.

Latest series is the worst programme I have ever seen on any channel......

As many have said Kay Mellor needs to up her game. 15 years ago this kind of stuff was the only kind of thing that you could get and look forward to. It's harmless and easy watching if you just want to turn your brain off and laugh at how bad it actually is.

It's ridiculous and portrays northerners as a bunch of imbeciles. Terrible writing and bad acting but I have to say I am enjoying it for what it is. Just don't expect much. Enjoy.

I'm not sure how this series has gone so bad.

Really enjoyed all the other series, but this new one (series 4) is dreadful.

It's full off plots holes, awful acting and totally unbelievable. Almost as though someone ticket the wrong box when this was commissioned.

Terrible, terrible series.

Series 1 & 2 entertaining & worth watching; series 3 not so much. Series 4 absolute rubbish; 1st episode looked potentially promising, but subsequently the storyline is totally unrealistic script infantile!

This is a typical bit of light entertainment about groups of people who formed syndicates, and won the lottery. The series explore, and dramatize the characters, and how their lives changed after winning. There are the usual story lines with intrigue, personal secrets, struggle between good and evil, all the necessary elements for this type of show. Some of the acting is better than others but at other times it's just overdone. The portrayal of the "idiot savant" gardener in series 3 by Lenny Henry is a case in point. Just seemed to be a poor copy of Dustin Hoffman in Rainman. The actors do get the Midlands accents right and that helps introduce the feeling that winning the lottery does happen for the ordinary folk. If you just want a bit of light TV with a story that has a good dose of predictability, and "feel-goodness" in it, then the series will work for you. The concept does lend itself to repeat series, and so far there have been 3 seasons. Overall, it's not terrible but also not great TV!

Looking at the reviews for series 4 I feel I made the right decision in switching this off. It was just awful.

Also, why is there this obsession with showing a scene at the beginning of the first episode then going back in time to see how it all started? Really irritating!!