Ordinary Lies, review: Even the office bore Sally Lindsay is a dark horse in this unpredictable drama

Episode three: The seemingly dull Kathy proves her life is anything but a snoozefest

Kathy (Sally Lindsay) in Ordinary Lies (BBC)

Writer Danny Brocklehurst has done it again this week, he lulls us into what we think is going to be a fairly predictable yarn before throwing a curveball so skilfully that it completely changes the trajectory of the episode.

As we leave Tracey and Viv’s woeful drug mule tale to one side (it’s still going on in the background), our attention turns to Corrie alumna Kathy (Sally Lindsay).

She’s the one who brought her neighbour’s humongous mutt into work because he was apparently sad after his girlfriend left. Oh how we laughed at this poor woman trying to manage this hulking shaggy dog around a car showroom.

But tonight Kathy shrugs off the bumbling mumsy label as she embarks on an illicit affair to satisfy the needs her sexless marriage can’t. Only it doesn’t go quite to plan as she and her fellow philanderer witness a brutal crime mid-tryst.

Kathy (Sally Lindsay) in Ordinary Lies (BBC)

Who would have thought that the most boring member of the office was actually a dark horse? From arranging an affair and making up an imaginary friend as a cover to pretending to be a member of victim support, Kathy is far from that happily married, mum-of-two stereotype.

We’re challenged over the nuances between love and sex and what “counts” as an affair. There are no black and white answers only varying shades of grey of what is right and wrong.

Lindsay delivers the goods as usual. This is an actress whose credits include Scott and Bailey, Mount Pleasant and Still Open All Hours. You really do feel for Kathy as she desperately attempts to put things right.

It’s a shame that this is “Kathy’s week” and the focus will invariably shift to another character in the next episode. This story, much like the drug trafficking episode, has legs and could easily fill a second instalment.

Brocklehurst makes unpredictable drama out of the humdrum in Ordinary Lies without losing believability or descending into melodrama. It’s safe to say that these set of modern fables continue to hold a grip over this reviewer.

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