Sensitive Skin : Complete BBC Series 1 [2005] [DVD] - Region 2 DVD

With Joanna Lumley in the lead role, Sensitive Skin follows her character Davina and Denis Lawson’s Al as a 60-year old couple with a 30-year old son. Their life though is far from idyllic, courtesy of the variety of fears, temptations and jealousies that go to make up their lives. Throw in their assorted friends and relatives too, and it’s quite a cocktail.

What’s pleasing though is how well it works. Courtesy of some clever, witty and mature writing, there’s little shirking away from both the highs and lows of the lives involved. But there’s plenty to enjoy and giggle at too, not least where the aforementioned son is concerned!

As you’d expect, the performances of both Lumley and Lawson are highly potent, and add a sheen of class to an already good quality production. That, mixed in with diligent direction, make Sensitive Skin one of the finer television treats of recent years. It’s unsurprising that it earned a second series.

For now though, consider the first warmly recommended. The six episodes on this DVD cover such a warm, yet occasionally bitter, mix of drama and comedy, that it’s a tricky dish to resist. And we wouldn’t recommend you try to anyway. --Jon Foster