Ivan Radford | On 30, Nov 2025

Season 2 premieres on 21st November 2025. This review is based on Season 1.

The return of Sherwood to BBC One was a reminder, if it were ever needed, that David Morrissey is an impeccable dramatic actor. But BBC Three’s Daddy Issues does something even more impressive: it proves he’s great at comedy too.

The series introduces us to 24-year-old Gemma, a hairdresser from Stockport who winds up expecting after an encounter with a man in a plane bathroom. With a mum (Susan Lynch) who’s swanned off overseas with a new partner, and a sister (Sharon Rooney) doing time for trying to bump off her boyfriend, her only port of call is her divorced dad, Malcolm (David Morrissey).

Malcolm is wonderfully, hopelessly hopeless. The kind of hopeless that invites your sympathy but only until it inspires cringe-inducing dismay. The kind of hopeless that’s funny but would be even funnier if it didn’t also bring you – and him – to tears. The kind of hopeless that actively sucks up any hope in the surrounding vicinity and jettisons it before it has a chance to take root. That’s not the kind of person you want to live with, let alone rely upon for support while attempting to raise a child.

Malcolm’s living arrangements are far from ideal. He doesn’t know what hygiene is, and he shares his bathroom facilities with five other men – if you’ve ever known a man who mops up bin juice with his jacket, you’ve met a Malcolm. He’s the punchline of a desperate joke, but the sitcom frames him firmly as a burden – just enough of a problem to be more than two-dimensional comic relief, but also just human enough to make him endearingly plausible.

David Morrissey is exceptional, balancing ineptitude with a warm sincerity and an unexpected vulnerability that’s entirely disarming. He’s joined by an equally brilliant David Fynn as Derek, Malcolm’s landlord – a scene-stealing side character who has an incel streak that’s far darker than you’d expect from such a light-hearted comedy. His potentially toxic influence grounds the show in stakes that are small but meaningfully personal.

The ensemble cast slowly builds to include Sarah Hadland as Gemma’s party-loving boss, Taj Atwal as a former school friend who’s now a mum, and Arian Nik as a cute pharmacist who may or may not become a genuine love interest for Gemma. But the star of it all is undoubtedly Aimee Lou Wood, who cements herself as one of the most likeable and interesting young comic talents of her generation. In her hands, with a face that is simultaneously naive and childlike and world-weary, Gemma is immediately someone to root for, even if we’re often doing so while hiding behind our hands.

Writer Danielle Ward takes them from awkward scenario to awkward scenario with a bright and breezy optimism that’s infectious – whether it’s a boxing class, the gradual building of a support network or simply having the courage for an honest, if difficult, conversation, Daddy Issues is a slow-burn joy that is rooted in its cast’s chemistry and their convincing journey towards reconciliation. Driven by its two flawless central performances, what begins as hilariously hopeless gently transforms into a tale where hope might just be on the cards.

Add to Watchlist