Bondage, stalking, sexting, “royal lady mounds” (don’t even) and social annihilation by cheese. The latest episode of Lip Service has it all and it comes in the form of Anna Skellern and Natasha O’Keeffe. Here’s to the rise of Lexy and Sadie!

On Lexy’s side, the Tess-Lexy-Sam love flowchart (definitely not a triangle) continues unabated with everyone crushing in the same unrequited direction. Add nurse Bea (Alana Hood) to the equation and Lexy would definitely be coming out on top if only she didn’t have her heart set on Sam. Her mad grin of hope when she asks if Sam’s going to meet her in the evening is startlingly vulnerable.

Meet her Sam does, however, and they bond over disgracing themselves at a wine-tasting. Until Sam freaks and bolts that is. Lexy helping Sam through her panic attack is a beautiful moment though and definitely seems like a turning point in their relationship, with just a touch of awareness and attraction beyond her grief dawning on Sam.

Lexy emerges as both strong and supportive, juggling friends, lovers and flatmates. Meanwhile, the looming danger of a potential stalker lurks threatening in the background.

For all its Glasgow grittiness, Lip Service still has a delightfully OTT edge to it, which means it’s not afraid to embrace the melodrama (Frankie discovering her death certificate, anyone?). Lexy’s unwanted creeper looks like it will fit that criteria exactly for coming episodes.

Sam’s grief is still confused with her suspicions over Frankie and Cat’s relationship and this week she follows it through. Bearing the mark of a devastated obsessee, she puts her career on the line to follow her lead, torturing herself with CCTV cam shots of Cat leaving Frankie’s house.

Sam eventually turns up at Lexy’s door, grief-stricken and desperate for distraction or comfort (or revenge sex) and poor Lexy is in the awful position of having to turn down what she would love, in other circumstances, to have.  Things are set to get very complicated for our Lexy!

Meanwhile, our favourite mistress of kink, Sadie, continues to be the best thing Lip Service never knew it needed. Rocking misery in her waitress’s outfit, she determinedly looks out for herself, demonstrating understanding and intuition when dealing with her new fuck-buddy/potential editor,  Lauren (Neve McIntosh), even though she’s clearly walking a knife’s edge.

She resorts to doing coke in the loos of the cheese restaurant where she works and then quits before she can be fired, indulging in some cheese-related kleptomania as she leaves. O’Keeffe’s Sadie has an exquisite mix of brilliance and desperation that both charms people and encourages them to mistreat her. She’s beautiful and brittle and eminently breakable. You long for the other girls to take her to their hearts so she has just that tiny bit of back up, but sadly there hasn’t been a hint of it so far.

There’s really only one reaction after an episode like this one though, and that’s: more please.

Aired at 9pm on Friday 11th May 2012 on BBC Three.

> Buy Series 1 on DVD on Amazon.

> Order Series 2 on DVD on Amazon.

What did you think of the episode? Let us know below…