Imagine a combination of Nine To Five, Working Girl, Mad Men and a sprinkling of Ally McBeal, and there you have the slightly surreal world of Hartmann Payne Investment Bank, where few people are what they seem and most have a skeleton or two rattling in their cupboard.
Let’s Hear It For The Girls
Created by Gabbie Asher, herself a former PA in the City of London, Personal Affairs tells the story of four secretaries, each very different, but fiercely loyal to each other. First up is Grace Darling (Olivia Grant), the consummate professional – serene, unflappable and the perfect “work wife” to her boss. By contrast, Midge Lerner (Annabel Scholey) is a slightly scatty dreamer, killing time in the office while waiting for her big showbiz break.
Ultra posh Nicole Palmerston-Amery (Maimie McCoy) somehow manages to sleep with most of the bank’s major clients without appearing to be a complete slapper, while not being averse to a bit of rough on the side. Rounding off the foursome is Lucy Baxter (Laura Aikman), a stunning business brain hidden behind an Essex-girl accent and a total lack of self-esteem.
And the bosses are an equally mixed bag. Texan Rock van Gelder (Robert Gant) appears to be stuck in some sort of 50s timewarp, where all the ladies are Doris Day clones who live to serve their adored menfolk. Simon Turner (Darren Boyd) is a master manipulator who married the boss’s daughter and knows he is pretty much untouchable.
Ian Ebelthite (Mark Benton) is the man for whom the phrase “Don’t bother trying to find him, he’s not there” may well have been invented. Perennially absent and generally sloshed, he moves around the globe from one party to another and communicates via webcam. Gloriously eccentric Rachel Klein (Emily Bruni) says and wears exactly what she pleases, while somehow managing to offend nobody other than fellow senior partner Jane Lesser (Archie Panjabi), a complete snob who thinks politeness is wasted on mere secretaries.
Great Characters You Actually Care About
Asher is also a one-time EastEnders scriptwriter, and has a sharp eye for detail and intriguing characters. As on all the best soaps, there are people the viewer is immediately drawn to, and ones who are definitely villains in the making. Why would ultra-conscientious Grace simply disappear after Rock’s proposal? Why did Simon ensure that Midge was thrown off the reality talent show she was so desperate to take part in? And what is a girl with an Oxford degree doing slaving away as a City temp?
Slick, glossy, fast-paced and totally involving, Personal Affairs could easily be mistaken for an American import, despite being filmed in Glasgow. Why it’s tucked away on BBC3 is a bit of a mystery – yes, there’s sex and strong language, but there’s plenty of that on offer on the main terrestrial channels. A show of this calibre should be reaching the widest possible audience, as opposed to the usual dire sitcoms which continue to clog up BBC1 schedules.
