“One of these days I’ll actually meet a lesbian who isn’t a total fuck up.”

So says Janice, Frankie’s latest one-night-stand, just after their hook-up ends in disaster. The message from this second series opener seems to be “Yeah right.”

The competition to be Glasgow’s most fucked up inhabitant is on and self-sabotage seems to be the weapon of choice.

The opening scenes of the new series seemingly turn Series 1’s ending on its head. 2010’s finale saw Cat (Laura Fraser) cheat on Sam (Heather Peace) with old-flame Frankie (Ruta Gedmintas) but, as Series 2 starts, Cat and Sam return from a holiday to Rio completely loved up, while Frankie lolls around at home unhappily.

Everything quickly unravels, of course. Cat can’t face up to the choices she must make and goes to see Frankie immediately, only to run away when Frankie kisses her. Instead she smokes pot at work, sabotages a presentation and acts like a misery guts around Sam. Cat’s wide-eyes can’t see the wood from the trees as she acknowledges how good she has it with Sam and yet still can’t bring herself to tell draw a line under things with Frankie. She’s stuck because she wants it all.

The discrimination Cat’s suffering in the workplace continues this series, already becoming more explicit when Jay gets put in charge of a project over Cat, although she’s not really doing herself any favours by getting stoned at work and disappearing off to cheat on her girlfriend in the middle of the day. Not that Jay’s much better. The discrimination here is that the boss is willing to let the straight guy get away with more than the gay girl.

Meanwhile Tess, who we last saw beginning a promising relationship with Fin (Lorraine Burroughs), is now stuck cold and miserable on the side of a football pitch taking ribbings from Fin’s team-mates and seemingly unable to adjust to her relationship or to try to appreciate the things Fin likes as well.

Vicious actress Nora (Being Human’s Sinéad Keenan) looks ready to throw daggers at co-star Tess, most likely due to her own insecurities. It remains to be seen whether Tess has the insight to realise this and rise above it rather than let it feed her own fears.

It’s great to see Sadie (Natasha O’Keefe) still around, with the ex-necklace thief, now ex-estate agent, fired for helping Frankie out with her rent  – even Sadie doesn’t really have anyone but herself to blame.

Even Ed “If I die tell my parents it was peer pressure” MacKenzie (Anthony James Pearson) lets himself be cajoled into taking cocaine on a night out to celebrate his book deal.

So here’s to Lip Service Series 2, home of the fuck ups, and to seeing which characters make it out the other side without completely destroying their lives!

Aired at 9pm on Friday 20th April 2012 on BBC Three.

> Buy Series 1 on DVD on Amazon.

> Order Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.

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