Man-child Malcolm weeping in Asda because he was going to be a grandad nicely captured the joy of news electrifying thousands of us every day. This broken bloke character, played by David Morrissey in comedy Daddy Issues on BBC Three, is a hopeless father, the Conservative Party of parenting. More hindrance than help to pregnant daughter and prospective solo parent Gemma, played by Aimee Lou Wood, he’s an anti-role model. Dumped by the missus and moving in with his hairdresser daughter to help cover her rent and escape a filthy flat from hell packed with women-hating divorcees, pathetic Malcolm could write the definitive guide on how not to live if he possessed any awareness. Domestic incompetence adds to Gemma’s burden. She has to house-train a dad who mops up bin juice with his jacket. She’s the strong one and this viewer is willing their fractured relationship to heal by the end of the series to enable Malcolm to pick himself up and proudly fly the flag for grandies. That emotional scene in Asda was his first good fortune since the wife ran off with the money, a lover and his self-respect. The thrill of learning you’re becoming a grandparent never leaves, a moment forever fresh in the memory. I was told at home rather than in Asda about my first, Little L, yet that supermarket played a bit part in his trip into this world. During Covid lockdown, Little L’s expecting mam and her hubby shielded while yours truly shopped in Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco then delivered bags to their front door every Thursday morning. Happy a grandson was on his way, and a deep-seated protective urge, gave those shopping expeditions a satisfying sense of purpose in a terrible period during which millions were petrified by a virus that took far too many lives. Real-life Malcolms rose to the challenge, too, all over the country, stepping up for children having children. Gemma is coping. Come on then, Malcolm. Prove you can cope. Do it for all us grandparents. Please.
