The year: 1990. The place: Stockport, Greater Manchester. The man: Martin Parker (Conleth Hill), an entrepreneur <\/span>and local Z-lister who is about to get his comeuppance.<\/p>\n BBC comedy The Power of Parker, created by Car Share\u2019s Sian Gibson and Paul Coleman, takes its title from Martin\u2019s advertising slogan for his chain of electrical goods stores. From the outside looking in, he appears to have it all \u2013 a successful business, a solid family unit, a fancy car and lovely big house \u2013 but his financial situation is \u201cbadder than bad\u201d and after turning to loan sharks to stay afloat \u2013 his house of cards is on the verge of collapse.<\/p>\n And to make matters even<\/em> worse, Martin\u2019s long-suffering wife Diane (Rosie Cavaliero) <\/span>and his perky mistress of 25 years Kath (Gibson) have also grown weary of his bad behaviour and team up to teach him a lesson.<\/p>\n The Power of Parker is an amalgam of premises we\u2019ve seen before, but that didn\u2019t dampen my enjoyment. There are a number of laugh out loud moments scattered throughout and a string of committed performances from a cast who are clearly having a ball.<\/p>\n Hill is excellent as the egocentric, smug and vain cowboy boot-wearing businessman at the heart of the high jinks. He embraces everything that\u2019s required of him, including a toe-curlingly hideous dance with Gibson\u2019s character that you\u2019ll desperately want to tear your eyes away from, but won\u2019t be able to, such is the weird magnetism it wields. His Mancunian accent, which is a deceptively tricky one to master, also gets a thumbs up from this Stockport native.<\/p>\n Diane and Kath are chalk and cheese \u2013 the former dresses \u201clike Maggie Thatcher\u201d, while Kath prefers double denim \u2013 which makes their scenes together a particular highlight. Watching them flip flop between hurling barbs at one another and slowly but surely finding common ground as they reevaluate Martin\u2019s gross misconduct makes for a satisfying watch.<\/p>\n A hat tip must also go Abigail McGibbon, a Northern Irish actor best known for her theatre work. Her no nonsense delivery, particularly when talking about a bean toastie, elevates her dialogue from mundane observations to comedy gold.<\/p> ![\"Diane,](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/07\/bbc-power-of-parker-817c9d7.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413\" "\\"The")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>