The Fight

Although best known for comedy series like Spaced and W1A, Jessica Hynes tackles the sort of slice-of-life subject matter for her directorial debut that you'd expect from Mike Leigh or Ken Loach. She also takes the lead role of Tina, a put-upon mum of three living in a coastal town, stoically doing her best to balance daily domestic mayhem with her carer job, a night-working husband (Shaun Parkes) and a bickering mum and dad (Anita Dobson, Christopher Fairbank) on the verge of separating. Throw in the fact her daughter is being bullied by the offspring of an old school nemesis (Rhona Mitra), and it's no surprise Hynes's world-weary walking punchbag is drawn to donning boxing gloves at a local gym. Just don't expect a distaff version of Rocky, as this is a warmly observed family drama that's both amusing and insightful. It's no Life is Sweet or Secrets & Lies, but Hynes shows behind-the-camera promise and the cast is impressive, especially Liv Hill (so good in Jellyfish) as the bully with issues of her own.