''Sunshine'' is a three-part comedy drama that began on 7 October 2008 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

, from the co-writers of ''

The Royle Family ''The Royle Family'' is a British sitcom produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series from 1998 to 2000, and specials from 2006 to 2012. It centres on the lives of a television-fixated Manchester family, the Royles, com ...

'' and ''

Early Doors ''Early Doors'' is a BBC sitcom written by Craig Cash and Phil Mealey. Both writers appear in the series, playing the two characters of 'Joe' and 'Duffy' who are best friends. ''Early Doors'' is set at The Grapes, a small public house in the ...

''. These co-writers,

Craig Cash Craig Cash (born 11 September 1960)
Retrie ...

and

Phil Mealey Phil Mealey is a British actor and writer from Stockport. Biography Mealey co-wrote and associate-produced the BBC sitcom ''Early Doors'' with Craig Cash. Mealey also acted in the series, playing the character Duffy. Cash and Mealey won two Nor ...

, also appear in the series.

Plot

Bob 'Bing' Crosby (

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

) has always been popular with friends and others around his area but he has a gambling problem, meaning he cannot resist the temptation to bet on

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

s. Bernadette (Lisa Millett) is Bob's childhood friend who became his lover and is now the mother of their son Joe, played by actor Dominic Senior. While she has often been angered by her husband's casual gambling habits, she has always forgiven him. When Bob bets more money and the stakes are raised, he could lose everything, including the wife and son he loves. At the end of the first episode, he bets his family's

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

fund on a 'dead cert' and loses it all. Bernadette kicks him out of the house, and he goes to sleep in the box room at his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

's house. Bernadette and Joe move to a flat to the reduced living costs - they are unable to afford a house because of Bing's absence. Joe begins to save up to buy his father a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

. However, Bing steals this money to gamble. He returns home, and is confronted by his father. Bing reveals that he was unable to do it and returns the money. He admits that he has a gambling problem.

Reception

Sam Wollaston reviewed the first episode for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' liked Coogan's lead performance saying "once you get used to him being a charming idiot rather than a comic genius, he's actually pretty good at it: acting, I mean." However, he was unsure of what the drama ''was'': "I've gone from chuckling gently - maybe a bit too gently - to weeping. Not proper wailing, just sniffing a bit. And that I think is the problem, we've gone from snug comedy to gritty northern drama. Kind of - because it's neither one thing nor t'other, as they say up there."

Nancy Banks-Smith Nancy Banks-Smith (born 1929) is a British television and radio critic, who spent most of her career writing for ''The Guardian''. Life and career Born in Manchester and raised in a pub, she was educated at Roedean School. Banks-Smith began her ...

looked at the last episode for the same paper, and suggested "Bernard Hill gave a simply magnificent performance as the dying grandfather in Sunshine (BBC1), against some formidable scene-stealers.". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' noted "the writers have a good ear for inadvertent, glancing comedy" and concluded "it’s possible to believe that these people are real enough to care about, and real enough to feel some pain." in their review. Ian Semel, the head of

gambling addiction Problem gambling or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to ''DSM-5'' if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological gambling is ...

helpline Gambling Therapy, thought ''Sunshine'' was "a fantastic illustration of the archetypal problem gambler" and that he was "going to get all my counsellors to watch it."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunshine (British TV series) BBC television comedy 2000s British comedy-drama television series 2008 British television series debuts 2008 British television series endings English-language television shows British comedy-drama television shows 2000s British television miniseries Television shows set in the United Kingdom