Last Friday saw the end of the fourth series of Stella on SKY 1 and I for one thought it was an absolute triumph.  I felt the show had perhaps run its course after not really laughing or being gripped by the third series last year.  I’m delighted to proclaim however that it was back on form in series four. Every episode in this latest series made me laugh out loud at some point.  It got to the point where I started to really look forward to watching it in the week ahead, I just knew it was guaranteed to make me smile.  I will definitely be consuming a FIFTH PINT OF STELLA  when the next series appears on our screens…….Oh and have one for yourself sweetheart!

Series three was a bit of a struggle because the show had to more or less  reinvent itself after many storyline threads had reached their natural conclusion by the end of series two. This meant as a consequence a few of the established characters were missing and I think the show felt it somewhat.  Sean(Kenny Doughty) and Rob Morgan(Mark Lewis Jones) were nowhere to be seen(Stella’s two hunky love interests) and both these actors had great screen presence. Stella’s son-in-law Sunil was not in it either due to an adulterous affair with a University classmate in series two.  I have to be honest though and say that I was never fully convinced about the actor who played this part(Rory Girvan).  The omission of Stella’s brother Dai Kosh(Own Teale) and her sister-in-law Paula(Elizabeth Berrington), were the characters I missed the most however.  They brought great comedy to the show what with their highly amusing randy role play games. This usually involved them dressing up combined with hilarious dialogue.

Series three therefore saw the introduction of a set of new storylines and characters with varying results.  I loved Big Alan’s(Steve Speirs) new lady friend Celia(Emma Rydal) and all her emotional backstory of being a grieving Mother. I found such scenes really moving and thought Emma and Steve acted them superbly together. Big Alan’s reticence of a sexual relationship with her due to his low self esteem issues was a really worthwhile storyline too.  Here we saw this big brute of a man who was as strong as an ox, yet that did not mean he could not have fears and insecurities as well.  I think actor Steve Speirs was the best thing in series three by a country mile.  He was brilliant at the comedy stuff as always, but he also showed he is great doing emotionally powerful stuff as well.

On the negative side, I’m afraid to say series three in general did not make me laugh that much.  I also found some of the new storylines bland and unoriginal. For example,  I had big issues with the storyline concerning Stella’s daughter Emma(Catrin Stewart) and her boss at work Marcus(James Thornton).  Emma got a job at his hair saloon and soon after was seen having an affair with him.  I like Catrin Stewart as an actress but this unoriginal ‘having a affair with her married boss’ storyline just bored me.  I did not really believe it either. I did not believe that this supposedly famous hairdresser in the form Marcus Jensen, with a seemingly great life and two young doting kids, would then potentially jeopardize all that by having an affair a with young girl who was half his age.

I struggled to find new character Vivienne(Eiry Hughes) funny and became increasingly irritated with Stella’s new boss at work, namely Sister(nurse) Cheryl Spragg(Clare Hingott).  In the case of the latter, I found her Sargent Major style mannerisms and delivery highly amusing at first but then she got on my nerves as the series progressed. I just found both characters verging on the silly rather than funny.  I also thought Michael’s(Peter Baladi)l snobby ex wife Jan(Tilly Blackwood) verged on being a caricature.  I suppose some of these criticisms are down to me being a bit too picky, it’s just that I thought series one and two were excellent and thus the third one a bit of letdown…..albeit still a reasonably enjoyable letdown.

I therefore tuned into the start of series four not knowing if I was going to enjoy it that much or not.  Straight away it had me really laughing however with their new Dai Davies(Anthony O’Donnell) storyline.  Dai’s new appearance was down to him coming into a load of money and he looked half JR Ewing and half American Evangelical Preacher ha ha. Just the sight of him in a stetson, covered in fake tan and with white gleaming teeth, it made me smirk every time he came on screen.  This character who was brilliantly acted by Anthony O’Donnell had me chuckling throughout the entire series. An example of this was in the episode ten when after Michael delivered his very moving best man’s speech, Dai amusingly then bemoaned how rubbish it was.  I hope to see lots more of funny Dai Davies in series five.

The star however of series four and who is without doubt my favourite character in the entire show, is Big Alan played by the brilliant Steve Speirs. In every episode he had me laughing.  For example, he had me laughing hard when due to being scared witless by a mouse, he half dismantled his house via throwing things at it.  I loved it when he went to pick Stella and Celia up from a gay nightclub.  He went into the club to get them and various men started getting amorous with him, his startled reactions to this sort of behaviour were very funny.  The bit that made cry with laughter though was when he put on a pair of underpants that were too tight in the quest of looking thinner.  It was all due to him feeling insecure due to Celia’s ex fella recently arriving on the scene.  It was TV comedy gold when he nearly collapsed in the restaurant due to not being able to breathe properly because of these tight underpants.  As much as the ever presence of Stella(Ruth Jones) is integral to the success of the show then this also applies to Big Alan in my book too.

I think the storylines were much better in this series and some characters that irked me in series three no longer seem to now.  Whereas in the last series Aunty Brenda, Yantob and Cheryl irritated me somewhat, now I found them amusing to watch.  I thought Cheryl’s open nudism in Aunty Brenda’s house was very funny when she first moved in.  I also thought Cheryl spraying a lovesick Yantob in the eye with a pepper spray was another highly amusing moment.

Series four was a bit like the series of the comebacks. Karl(Stella’s ex husband played by Julian Lewis Jones) was in the entire series after being missing completely in series three, and we saw well known characters Paula and Rob Morgan make a reappearance or two towards the end of it. The show in my view was all the more stronger for us seeing these characters once again  .  They brought an old familiarity to the proceedings which thus aided my enjoyment of the programme.  Paula and Karl are two big comic characters so their inclusion helped make this series more comical than the last.

Like I have said, the storylines this series kept me a lot more interested than in the last.  They kept me wanting to tune in week after week whereas last year I had a feeling of indifference towards the show.  There was the money struggles and the gambling addiction issues concerning Stella’s eldest son Luke(Craig Gallivan).  I thought Celia had a much bigger role this series with her also training to be a nurse like Stella. I really like her as a character and Emma Rydal as an actress. I loved her scenes with Steve Speirs(Big Alan) and the old softy in me enjoyed seeing them get married.  I thought the council election stuff made for amusing viewing and like I have said, the transformation of Dai Davies into this sort of JR Ewing type figure was hilarious.

The storyline that underpinned the series throughout however was the relationship up and downs between Stella(Ruth Jones) and Michael(Patrick Baladi). I really warmed to them as a couple this series, I quickly stopped longing for hunky Sean to come knocking on her door to sweep her of her feet.  I was a bit surprised by how amusing I found Michael at times and so Patrick Baladi’s acting has to be applauded for this. I am thinking of say his funny dialogue and delivery when asking Mr Honey(Ramon Tikram) for a fight. If I am honest I did find all the ‘will they or won’t they get back together’ stuff in episode ten a tad corny and over-the-top, but in the main I enjoyed them as characters.

Stella succeeds in my opinion because yes it is funny, but more than that, it is because it is rooted deeply in the family and the sense of a close knit community. There is a honesty and decency about these characters whose lives we have come to care about.  They make us laugh and occasionally move us to tears. In series four Stella was back on form………..COCKING LOVELY!