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Original poster

The Trouble With Maggie Cole

140 replies

Clawdy · 04/03/2020 22:21

Very disappointing. Such a good cast, but a ridiculous storyline. It might have made a bit more sense if she had hinted at scandals in the village without mentioning names, and then everyone would be wondering who it could be. A shame, but I won't be watching next week.

OP posts:

Lyndassniff · 19/03/2020 16:33

Where'sthatcat, I had exactly the same thought about the actor who play Becka. However, my google search suggests that Becka is played by Gwyneth Keyworth while Natasha is played by Mali Harries.

Blondeshavemorefun · 19/03/2020 18:13

Did they really burn the remainder of the money. Insane

WeWantSweet · 20/03/2020 22:39

The guy hiding the money there, the couple burning the money they found there and the cool author guy being enamoured with Hayley from Corrers (only called something else) is stretching things somewhat lol. But at least it isn't detective led so + points from me.

FlatulantTrousers · 21/03/2020 13:52

@WeWantSweet awwwww noooo I thought that romance with the writer was really sweet lolol but I know what you mean.

I don't think the young pub couple really fit together either. It's horrible to say, but all I could think of when watching them together was Kermit and Miss Piggy, like she might just whack him and harumph at the camera. I think the guy is a great actor though, not so sure about her yet.

FlatulantTrousers · 25/03/2020 21:39

Bah. I was looking forward to this tonight after such a strange week. But it's the episode about the absolute bane of my life at the moment - the "Polish" girl lol.

I've said many times that she neither looks nor sounds Polish and wonder wtf the casting director was thinking, nor do I understand this episode's gushing about her looks, as she looks fairly average to me, not a drop dead gorgeous model type. But if she could at least act or have some kind of appeal to her, I could try to overlook it. But she's just a terrible actress and utterly bland. So I'm raging lol.

It's funny this episode is about "racism" against Polish people, yet for reasons I cannot understand, they gave the role of the Polish girl to an actress that is clearly NOT Polish. Why not give it to someone who actually is Polish? Bad casting and it always makes me upset.

Oh well, I suppose she won't be in it much after this week, if this is the episode about her.

I also don't think it's a child that gets hit at the beginning, as seems to be being suggested everywhere by viewers. The person that gets hit by a car is wearing a different colour jacket to the child that lets the balloon go. However, if it IS a child I hope it's Kerry Howard's son so I never have to witness his sickly drama school wannabe acting on my tv again lol. Methinks someone has a very pushy stage mum.

CoolCarrie · 25/03/2020 22:59

Please can someone tell me what the family secret is in Maggie’s family? I missed it

PickwickThePlockingDodo · 25/03/2020 23:57

I don't think we know, do we? If we do, I missed it too.

Willow4987 · 26/03/2020 00:04

@FlatulantTrousers unless I mis-heard I thought they said Roxanna was brought up in Cornwall (or wherever this is set) which might account for her accent? Or they alluded to the fact that she’d been to the primary school and her father had been running the shop for several years etc

FlatulantTrousers · 26/03/2020 01:27

@Willow4987 there was something about her being accused of being a slut from the age of 14. I don't know if it was meant to be locally or in Poland. Regardless, I was brought up in England and I still have the Polish accent, from my parents. If she had developed her accent from living locally, then it would be West Country, not BBC/Drama schoolish. Plus she doesn't even look Polish.

(And she can't act. At all lol)

Willow4987 · 26/03/2020 03:54

@FlatulantTrousers oh yeah good point about it being West Country!!!

SchadenfreudePersonified · 26/03/2020 13:47

I agree that it is very disappointing, and just a way to get Dawn French onto the telly agin - and she isn't doing herself any favours/

She's obviously supposed to be this cheeky, quirky, slightly batshit but really good-at-heart woman who was tricked into revealing confidence - whereas she's not that at all. She's a nasty gossip who couldn't wait to betray her friends with unsubstantiated rumours and spiteful asides.

Obviously, it will all end happily for everyone in a way that it wouldn't have done if she'd kept quiet, but that's totally unbelievable - give us credit for some intelligence even in a bit of light drama.

I ended up disliking her so much I want to punch her in her self-pitying face.

Julie Hesmondhalgh is fab, though - and so is her love interest.

I will keep watching it though - the scenery is amazing!

PickwickThePlockingDodo · 26/03/2020 14:33

Yeah I think it was a mistake casting Dawn French, she's just the bloody same as in the vicar of dibley, it's a bit annoying.

Blondeshavemorefun · 26/03/2020 15:50

This weeks not so good :(

longwayoff · 26/03/2020 15:56

This is very poor, I didn't know they still made tv programmes like this, it's dreadful. Going now before I say something I might regret.....

FlatulantTrousers · 26/03/2020 18:35

@Blondeshavemorefun I blame it all on the "Polish" girl lolol

thenightsky · 27/03/2020 18:11

Please can someone tell me what the family secret is in Maggie’s family? I missed it

Yes, me too. There was a picture on screen of her with her son. I couldn't see how that was anything weird.

Jakethekid · 27/03/2020 18:32

It said something about violent past or a violent incident. I didnt catch it quick enough to read it properly

purpleme12 · 30/03/2020 00:06

I'm surprised at all the bad comments on here

Blondeshavemorefun · 31/03/2020 20:16

Don’t think we know Maggies secret

Sure we will be the end of series

saveforthat · 01/04/2020 21:42

Is anyone watching tonight. I want Maggie's umbrella. Anyone know where it's from?

pigsDOfly · 01/04/2020 23:17

saveforthat Me too. I'm on my own and actually said out loud to the dog, 'ooh I like her umbrella, looks expensive'

Thankfully, the dog didn't have an opinion

purpleme12 · 02/04/2020 00:46

Awww I wish I had a dog to watch it with

FlatulantTrousers · 02/04/2020 01:45

So after thinking we were going to finally be seeing less of my current arch-nemesis, the "Polish" girl, there she goes again with her horrible horrible acting my screen again. Because there's never enough almost-smirking-but-not-quite one actress can do in an hour(!)

Honestly, the scenes where her boyfriend came to the house were just laughable. The boyfriend was seeing how high his voice could go, whilst not really showing any emotion. She just pottered around looking not particularly concerned and the kid was just...there. None of them can act! If they hadn't interjected the phonecall with Kerry Howard, who CAN and DID act, then I would've thought that whole scene was a joke. This was supposed to be a really tense scene and the 3 "actors" in that house just spoiled it completely.

I was also disappointed with the barlady in the pub tonight. She wasn't as terrible as those 3 in the house, but she wasn't great. I thought the landlord was good though. Perhaps it's because she was next to him and Dawn French, who were outshining her.

How delightfully cringey was the scenes with the receptionist and Maggie's husband though? Superb performances from both of them, I loved it.

I think next week is the last one? Despite my vocal criticisms of some of it, I have enjoyed it and will miss it. I hope they will make another series (but write out certain characters and bring in some new ones with better actors).

pigsDOfly · 02/04/2020 09:29

I'm still finding it a bit flat.

The 'great reveal' of what happened to Maggie's son was a bit of a non event, and whilst in real life it would be a ghastly thing to happen, it all fell a bit short in the context of a tv programme, particularly as it had been left as a sort of 'cliff hanger' the week before.

And surely, given that events like that are pretty rare. it would have been in the papers at the time, certainly the local papers. It's highly unlikely Maggie would not have heard about it.

I suppose it beats watching reruns of Midsummer Murders for the umpteenth time, but there's so much about it that's pretty dire tbh.

It's nice to have the dog to watch it with I suppose, purpleme12 but if I'm honest she doesn't contribute very much, and the conversation tends to be pretty one sided

WaterIsWide · 02/04/2020 10:00

Maggie's son was in a boxing match/boxing training and knocked his opponent out. He recovered but was never the same again. Her son feels bad about it to this day. Maggie's husband knows about it but kept it from Maggie. For all these years ?

I thought Maggie over reacted when she left the family home for the night to get some space and have some thinking time. I might be upset but I wouldn't storm off like that.

However that was a plot device so that the frankly odd school receptionist could flirt with Maggie's husband before launching herself at him to his total surprise and shock. Why was she dressed as if she was going to a wedding ?

It seems that Maggie will now be the subject of gossip as the word is he's having an affair with someone who works at the school.

I'm finding it hard to believe that Maggie is being, 'rewarded' with some pretty hard truths about people's lives. As she goes round apologising to people. Why would anybody trust her now ?

Dawn French herself says that you're not supposed to like the Maggie Cole character. In fact, Dawn French described Maggie as pathetic.

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