Love in Recovery: Series 3

Oct 5, 2024 4:05 PM

Author:Pete Jackson,Paul Kaye,Johnny Vegas,Sue Johnston,John Hannah,Rebecca Front

Third series of the critically acclaimed comedy drama set in Alcoholics Anonymous, containing exclusive, unbroadcast material. Written by Pete Jackson and inspired by his own road to recovery, Love in Recovery stars Rebecca Front, John Hannah, Sue Johnston, Paul Kaye and Johnny Vegas.

Praise for Series 1 and 2

‘Bright, bold, original comedy by Pete Jackson with a sparkling cast’ – The Telegraph

‘One of the finest casts on radio for years…the series is set to become a classic’ – Radio Times

Love in Recovery follows the lives of five very different recovering alcoholics. Johnny Vegas is Andy, the sweet but simple self-appointed group leader. Sue Johnston plays straight talking Julie, who's been known to have the odd relapse here and there - and everywhere. Rebecca Front is the snobby and spikey Fiona, an ex-banker who had it all and then lost the lot. John Hannah is Simon, a snide journalist who’s not an alcoholic – he got caught drink driving, his boss made him attend the meeting, but he fell in love with Fiona and stayed – and despite her best efforts, she fell in love with him too. Paul Kaye is Danno, a down and out two-bit chancer with a shady past but a lot of heart, who’s desperate to turn his life around.

As we follow their weekly meetings, we hear them moan, argue, laugh, fall apart, fall in love and most importantly, tell their stories. And in series three, the group faces bigger highs and lows than ever before.

Writer Pete Jackson is a recovering alcoholic and has spent time in Alcoholics Anonymous. It was there he found, as most people do, support from the unlikeliest group of disparate souls, all banded together due to one common bond. As well as offering the support he needed throughout a difficult time, AA also offered a weekly, sometimes daily, dose of hilarity, upset, heartbreak and friendship.

Love in Recovery doesn’t seek to represent an AA meeting exactly as it might happen in real life, but to capture the funny stories, the sad stories, the stories of small victories and of huge milestones, stories of loss, stories of hope, and most importantly, the many many highs and lows in the journey of recovery.

Cast

Fiona….. Rebecca Front

Simon….. John Hannah

Julie….. Sue Johnston

Danno….. Paul Kaye

Andy..... Johnny Vegas

Written and created by Pete Jackson

Producer/Director: Ben Worsfield

A King Bert production for BBC Radio 4

Reviews

A beautiful and clever book about being human. All the warmth of his comedy without the inconvenience of his face

—— Russell Brand

Hard to imagine anyone not loving this... go Simon Amstell!

—— Stephen Fry

Disarmingly, almost alarmingly, honest. I laughed out loud 57 times

—— Martin Freeman

No one makes loneliness and anxiety as funny as Simon Amstell. Every sentence in this book is simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious

—— Hadley Freeman

Enrapturing. Touching, funny and sweet

—— Alain de Botton

Puts the fun in 'insanely honest introspection fun'

—— Adam Buxton

A brilliantly funny, sad, clever, silly book. I loved it!

—— Matt Lucas

Amstell is a likable, self-deprecating guide to his own flaws, and has spent enough time in therapy to dissect his own navel-gazing with a nicely dry self-awareness

—— Stephanie Merritt , Observer

Hilarious and heart-breaking… Simon’s unique take on the world is a reminder of the absurdity of life and the humour that can be found even in its darkest moments. Genuinely life-affirming, moving and profoundly funny

—— Attitude

Compulsively, excruciatingly honest… An heroically spiky, self-excavating read about family, fame, sex and self-discovery

—— Alice Jones , i

This book blends some of the best moments from his tours to date with some eye-wateringly honest anecdotes from his life so far

—— Adam Ouxbury , Wing Magazine

It’s inevitable that Simon Amstell’s memoir doesn’t fit the usual mould… In Help..., he cranks up the honesty: alongside excerpts of scripts from his shows, he relates the source material, often in almost painful depth. Depression, an unhappy childhood, family rifts – all feature in what Amstell, typically acerbic, describes as a “heroic act of self-annihiliation”

—— Hannah Shaddock , Radio Times

Amstell is evocative and wittily self-aware about his upbringing as a painfully shy, socially awkward boy in Romford… Amstell’s writing often contains profundity alongside morsels of pithy wit

—— Steve Bennett , Chortle

Stand-up transcripts interspersed with touching personal confessions – love, sexuality, self-discovery – in his trademark sardonic style

—— Sarah Flynn , Irish Times

Amstell is one of the UK’s best stand-ups and this beautifully written memoir… Is a gem. It is brutally, excruciatingly honest about his dysfunctional family, his sexual awakening, his comedy career and his struggles with anxiety. It is also laugh-out-loud-on-public-transport funny.

—— Alice Jones , i

Help provides a fascinating insight into Amstell’s life… a unique discussion on the role and purpose of comedy in our society as a means to protect ourselves and others, but also as means to reveal our most vulnerable states

—— Thomas Bransby , BJGP

Joyful nostalgia

—— Daily Express

As a hard-nosed ex-detective, it was a source of much hilarity that I am such a Wham! fan but my copy of this is a prized possession

—— Peter Bleksley

One of the most interesting feminist voices in popular culture

—— The Pool

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