angelo’s(4/6)

Five’s home-grown sitcom continues tonight. Set in a greasy spoon in London’s Trafalgar Square, Angelo’s follows the fortunes of a group of misfits, wannabes and losers including Italian owner Angelo and his truculent daughter Maria. In this episode, Angelo seeks female companionship in the form of Russell’s sister; Kris works up the courage to ask Maria on a date; and Dave lands himself in hot water.

Kind-hearted café owner Angelo is chatting to his customer, Russell, when he confesses that he misses the company of a good woman. “Sometimes I think I’d like to meet a nice lady,” he says, wistfully. “You know, it’s been 15 years since my wife went.” Russell mentions that he has a widowed sister about Angelo’s age, and duly agrees to bring her by the café one day for him to meet her. “If she’s not what I like, I’ll just give you a little signal,” Angelo says, cheerfully miming a ‘thumbs down’ from behind the counter.

Angelo is immediately impressed by Russell’s sister Angela, and especially approves of her name. But his conversation gets off to a shaky start with his opening gambit: “So, Russell tells me your husband broke your nose and killed himself?” he says. Fortunately, Angelo gets back on course and manages to charm Angela enough to invite her over for dinner. Their romantic evening goes well, until the arrival of Maria, who is suspicious of Angela’s designs on her father. “If anyone ever hurt him, I’d kill her,” Maria says, staring daggers at Angela. Has Maria’s intervention killed off Angelo’s amorous desires?

Kris, meanwhile, has high hopes for his own love life, when he plucks up the courage to ask Maria out on a date. He proposes they take a day trip on a ‘duck boat’ tourist cruise down the Thames, but is chagrined to hear that Maria has patched up her differences with boyfriend Mickey. However, Maria has second thoughts when she finds that Mickey’s idea of spending time together is to stand in a doorway in the street all day. “You never take me anywhere,” she complains. “I’m fed up with it, man!” Maria impulsively accepts Kris’s offer, only to regret her decision and implore Alicia to come with them.

The trip on the boat starts badly for Kris when he learns that Maria’s friend is accompanying them. But things deteriorate when Alicia gets seasick and Maria discovers that Kris has come ‘prepared’ with a condom – forcing the mortified mime artist to make clear his intentions. “It’s not for you,” he says quickly. “This is deeply embarrassing.”

Elsewhere, grumpy policeman Dave is having an equally miserable time. After making a highly inappropriate joke about Al-Qaeda in Angelo’s café, he is forced to endure a drink in the pub with his fireman friend Steve (played by comedian and poet Tim Key). Dave is fed up of Steve mocking his job and tells Karen that firemen spend most of their time raising money for charity, rather than putting out fires. “How do I know you don’t spend all day rescuing cats stuck up trees?” he asks. Unfortunately, Dave’s jibes backfire badly and he is forced to make a humbling apology. Can nothing go right for the hapless copper?