'My Mad Fat Diary'
You could argue that E4 is the home of American comedies, with their television listings full of them. I'm sure if you turned over to E4 right about now, an American show is on. However the UK flag is being stabbed into E4’s primetime Monday listing with 'My Mad Fat Diary'. After the success of the first series E4’s hit drama, Rae (Sharon Rooney) and the gang are back and are now facing the challenging of college, love triangles and strained friendships between members of the gang.
Rae Earl is now facing her toughest challenge yet by going to college. You would think she would be fine with her gang on her side but as the series goes on you will see these group of friends break into their own gangs - especially Chloe (Jodie Comer) who wants to make sure she is the most popular girl on campus.
Archie (Dan Cohen) is trying to become a ‘LAD’ but when he reveals his secret that he has been hiding for a long time, how will his life change and how will the gang take it? And then we have Finn (Nico Mirallegro) who is on and off with Rae this series but just can not keep away from her - got to feel for the guy.
As well as college, Rae has to deal with her pregnant mum (Claire Rushbrook). Each time Rae steps in the house, her mum seems to be up to something whether it is holding a parenting class or having her new born grow up in a Muslim culture. Their relationship is always fractured but in this series you can turn the tension with the knife during certain scenes.
Not forgetting the new guy on the scene Liam (Turlough Convery) who Rae develops a deep connection to. Liam is a part of the same group therapy session and they bond over their issues. I personally find that we have not seen enough of Liam’s character, as there are clearly some layers that need to be exposed before I can warm to him.
I love the fact 'My Mad Fat Diary' is back on E4 and we are getting to see characters such as Chloe and Archie develop so that allow us to warm to them. There is no doubt there will be a series three of this hit show, it just means some waiting for us fans.
Catch up with 'My Mad Fat Diary' on 4oD.
'Kris: Dying To Live'
With the recent cancer awareness no make-up and ‘cockinasock’ selfies, it is great to see people actually donating to various cancer charities. But with so many cancer charities, it can be hard to know who to donate your money to. Coppafeel is the first breast cancer charity whose aim to get young people checking their boobs and spreading the awareness. The founder of Coppafeel is Kris Hallenga, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 23 and in the same year founded Coppafeel. Very impressive, you must admit.
We get to see the journey that Kris has gone through with her personal battles, building up an awareness of cancer as well Coppafeel, and her just trying to live a normal life. At first I thought this would be quite a dull and boring documentary, a bit like an Oxfam commercial - you start to see all those sad faces and you feel bad but switch over the channel. I was completely wrong! It was actually the opposite, we mostly saw Kris spreading awareness in schools and through flashmobs. My favourite part was when they projected their awareness campaign on the House of Commons before the police put a stop to it.
It's not all about cancer, we get to see the happiness of Kris hanging out with friends for drinks and her relationship. However, sometimes relationships do not work, and I guess the pressure of being busy with Coppafeel and dealing with her cancer played part in the breakdown.
I have seen Coppafeel around but I have never thought about finding out what they actually do until watching this documentary. If anything this documentary highlights the importance of regular checking and getting to it early for both men and women. Go to the website to find out the signs of breast cancer, and you can text BOOBS to 70300 to get a free monthly reminder to check your boobs!
Watch 'Kris: Dying To Live' on BBC iPlayer for a limited time.
Find more from Jordan at @jrory. Check out our review of the Coppafeel music festival, Festifeel back in 2012.
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