Big win great but how much it changes lives is a lottery

 Many people no doubt imagine winning the Lotto but very few, if any, think of the headaches and heartaches it brings.

The Syndicate on BBC 1 on Tuesday nights is in its second series but this time concentrating on a different group.

The last time the syndicate was working in a supermarket. This time all five work in a hospital.

The first episode of the six-part drama started with them searching for the ticket. It was both a panic and a howl. But they did find it and the celebrations were just starting by the end of the hour-long programme.

This time there’s a work colleague who had just dropped out of the syndicate four months previously (they win over £72 million, by the way) and is now claiming her share. She also says the numbers were hers.

This would indeed be a nightmare, though some would say having a £14m share in a lotto win would be well worth the pain.

The next five episodes promise to tell us more about the background stories of the characters and how they respond to their fortune.The BBC do drama so well. The plot is definitely promising. I must admit I didn’t see the first series but one of the characters from that turns up in this series as an advisor working for the Lottery office.

The cast are great and includes Siobhan Finneran, who played Mrs O’Brien in Downton Abbey, as Mandy, whose marriage is not very healthy and who appears to be either doping or poisoning her thug of a husband.

It just goes to show that money can’t buy you freedom as this is what Mandy appears to want most.

What a nightmare. Imagine winning a lump of money and still being stuck with a husband you hate and a life that you still can’t escape from.

It certainly had a good start, which is important for any series to get the viewers hooked.

It had the right pace to keep you glued to the screen as well as the right balance of humour.

Television drama is hugely popular. The viewing figures for Love/Hate and Raw prove that viewers appreciate good drama that is realistic.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.